Former Pupil Donald Armour (1958) has been a long-term campaigner and supporter of the Homeless in Edinburgh, recently Donald shared a letter with us that he is keen to get out to the wider Former Pupil community. If you could support Donald in his endeavour please contact the development office by email: dev@george-heriots.com and we can connect you.

‘I have been trying for some time to gather support for a new overnight emergency shelter for older homeless people in Edinburgh.

Public attention tends to focus on the plight of the young homeless sleeping on the streets. Such focus is right and just. But I fear that another group risks being overlooked, namely fragile older local citizens, ill-equipped to fend for themselves, who sleep rough in Edinburgh's wet and cold winter nights.

I would prefer to draw attention to the needs of these older men and women, often vulnerable, inarticulate, unable to cope with life generally, not equipped to find their way through the system.

The City has a longer-term housing plan in hand to relieve homelessness. But my plea is for urgent action now to provide emergency overnight shelters.

The Bethany Christian Trust does a sterling job and deserves huge praise for providing shelter. But it is overstretched. The city needs another large space, preferably near to the city centre. The Bethany Trust informs me that it is now cooperating with the City Council in setting up a new centre to replace the Gorgie Road Diadem shelter, now closed. But I feel sure that still more needs to be done to cope with the many adrift on the streets.

I understand that the following Edinburgh churches are soon to close and stand unused: Greenside Parish Church, Royal Terrace; St Catherines Argyle, Grange Road; St Davids Broomhouse Crescent; North Leith Parish Church Madeira St; St Andrews Easter Road; and the Old Kirk Muirhouse, Pennywell Road.

One or more of them could perhaps be put to new use, like the Bethany Trust’s former shelter, the Diadem Centre, which was, until the pandemic, located in a disused church at 539 Gorgie Road, converted to this charitable purpose.

I'm a private citizen, a retired journalist without particular status, hitherto acting on his own. I feel more and more the need for much more influential voices than mine to combine in calling for action, giving more force to this appeal.

I would be grateful if you would canvas your local MP, city councillor or other interested parties who might lend their weight to this cause, as well as organisations, firms and individuals who might be able and willing to give support in the form of charitable donations.

A possible funding solution might be setting up a consortium of the city's wealthier citizens and/or corporate bodies to each provide money that could be matched by the Council to refurbish available empty premises and provide resources to pay permanent staff.

I would welcome critical feedback from you about the feasibility of the above proposals, and of course your own ideas and proposals.’

Donald Armour 

July 2023