A local Glasgow charity is celebrating after making a successful bid for funding from Nationwide Building Society for its work to support housing for veterans and their families in the area.
Nationwide, the UK’s biggest building society, has been looking to support charities dealing with the many issues around housing in Scotland and has made £250,000 available to help make a difference across communities across the region.
Glasgow Helping Heroes has been confirmed as one of those that has been successful in receiving a grant of £25,000 to support its work.
Glasgow’s Helping Heroes is a partnership between SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity and Glasgow City Council, to support the serving community, veterans and their families. The team offer holistic help and advice on issues such as housing, employment and training, dealing with debt or financial issues as well as assistance relating to health problems.
Nationwide invited applications for grants of up to £50,000 for housing projects that have the potential to strengthen communities and help make a difference in local areas, ranging from preventing people from being homeless, helping people into a home and supporting people to remain in their homes. Applications for the grants were accepted from across Scotland.
Rachel Tribble, Service Manager Glasgow’s Helping Heroes, said:
“We are delighted that the work we do with the Armed Forces community in Glasgow has been recognised by Nationwide. We’re extremely grateful for the incredibly generous grant which will help us reach more veterans and their families in need.
“Our plan is to launch a new ‘Tenancy Support Programme’ that supports veterans to successfully sustain new tenancies. It will offer support to manage their homes – by paying rent on time, budgeting, taking meter readings, and knowing who to call if something goes wrong.”
Garry Samson, Nationwide’s Regional Director, said:
“One in five people in Scotland have been homeless or have experienced family or close friends without a home of their own, so it’s imperative that we do something about this.
“Helping people into homes of their own is at the heart of what we do as a building society, which is why we’re making funding available for local housing projects. In fact, we’re making £22 million available over five years across the UK to do just this and ensure everyone has a place fit to call home.”
A Community Board of Nationwide members, employees and local housing experts was appointed to have a say on which local community projects were supported, with almost 20,000 members then voting on the awards shortlisted across four regions, including Scotland.
Glasgow’s Helping Heroes is a service for veterans and their families who live or work in Glasgow, helping those who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, as well as those struggling with tenancies.
Find out more about how you can support Glasgow Helping Heroes by visiting www.glasgowshelpingheroes.org.
Notes to editors:
SSAFA, the Armed Forces charity, has been providing lifelong support to our Forces and their families since 1885. Every year our staff and team of volunteers help more than 67,000 people, from Second World War veterans to young men and women who have served in more recent conflicts.
For more information visit www.ssafa.org.uk and follow us on Twitter: @SSAFA.
