News

Glasgow City Mission invited Foundation staff to a breakfast briefing last week to discuss the impact the Overnight Welcome Centre had over the winter months in Glasgow, and we were delighted to hear about the huge difference our support has made to the project.

We hope everyone who took part in our Big Ibrox Sleep Outs this year, raising funds for the Foundation, Glasgow City Mission and Simon Community Scotland, are very proud of what they have achieved as a result of spending a cold night sleeping at Ibrox Stadium.

This year the Overnight Welcome Centre operated on a hybrid model, with ten hotel rooms available for guests each night, as well as a Day Team of staff on hand to help people navigate the housing system and get into proper accommodation.

The Overnight Welcome Centre helped 478 people with a room over the period from December until March, which constituted a total of 1051 individual stays, with some guests staying more than one night.

Elyse MacKinnon, Winter Project Manager at Glasgow City Mission, spoke about the complex issues the team saw every day during the winter and the challenges faced by those with no alternative than to sleep rough.

Thankfully, 87% of guests had a positive outcome by the end of the period, moving on to some form of accommodation such as a B and B or hostel. Three guests were even placed in a proper tenancy as a result of the team’s work on their behalf.

Sadly, 24 young people under the age of 17 sought out the service this winter. A women with a 6 week old baby also presented asking for a place to sleep, and the team were able to help her.
We also heard from team members Emily, who headed up the Day Team, and Ant, the Overnight Welcome Centre Team Lead.

Emily stressed the importance of working together, commenting: “Partnerships working is always so important, but even more so this year. We have strong, rich partnerships and we are so grateful for the support.”

“We have seen a variety of different cases this winter, including an older gentleman with cognitive impairment who was a victim of labour exploitation. Some of these cases are complex, but we have worked with partners, including the Govan Law Service, to support each of our guests.”

Ant added: “I had not performed a role like this before, being Team Lead for the Overnight Welcome Centre, and it has honestly been the most fulfilling thing I have ever done. Being able to be an ear for a broken man, to connect and offer him support, was incredible.”

Thank you to everyone who helped make this work possible by taking part in our Big Ibrox Sleep Outs. We hope you agree that sleeping out overnight at Ibrox has made a huge difference to homelessness in our city.

You can view Glasgow City Mission’s full Winter Project report for 2025/26 on their website HERE.