How you can help Glasgow’s homeless this Christmas

But it is important to remember that not all Glaswegians will have a fun time this Christmas - with or without lockdown restrictions.

For Glasgow’s homeless, the festive season can be a lonely time, with temperatures plummeting and nights getting longer.

Here are just some of the ways you can help homeless people in Glasgow this Christmas.

Donate to Help the Homeless Glasgow

The non-profit community group was founded last year with the aim of dishing out essentials and food to the homeless in Glasgow.

This year the group needs your donations. It has set up a collection point at the Nando’s on Waterloo Street where people can drop off underwear, socks, hats, scarves, gloves, deodorant, wipes, hand sanitiser, masks and gift boxes.

These donations will then be distributed to those in need.

Find out more about the group on the Help the Homeless Glasgow Facebook page.

Help your local Big Issue vendor

The festive season used to be the busiest time of year for Big Issue vendors - with Glasgow’s main shopping streets bustling as people bought presents before Christmas, and then went shopping again in the post-Christmas sales.

But with Covid-19 restrictions in place, Omicron spreading and people switching to online shopping, the traditional high streets are suffering, and so are the vendors.

But you can support them this Christmas by taking out a subscription with the Big Issue online and selecting your local vendor, who will get 50 per cent of the net profits.

Find out more about the scheme on the Big Issue website.

Support the Kindness Homeless Street Team

You might have heard of the Kindness Homeless Street Team. The group was formed during the pandemic to help the city’s homeless people, as other organisations and support networks shut down. They run a soup kitchen in George Square, while also offering essentials like food, clothes, sanitary products and even haircuts. Their work even earned founder Laura McSorley the Lorraine Kindness Award at this year’s Women of the Year awards.

This year the team will be offering a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings in George Square. From 12.30-2pm on Christmas Day, everyone is invited to head along and get a free meal. There will be turkey, roast potatoes, veg - all the favourites, as well as veggie and halal options.

You can donate to the team via their PayPal page.

Buy a Christmas dinner for a homeless person

Itison has teamed up with Social Bite - the Edinburgh cafe which has turned into a much wider project aimed at ending homelessness - this Christmas to offer Christmas dinners for homeless people.

For just £5 you can buy a Christmas dinner for someone in need. 100 per cent of the money raised in Scotland will go to Social Bite to help feed the homeless. Any excess funds will be used to provide meals to homeless people in 2022.

You can make a donation on the Itison website.