THE countdown has begun to Glasgow’s first ever Sleep in the Park event, hosted by Social Bite.

Following a hugely successful inaugural event last year, the mass sleepout will take over Kelvingrove Park to raise money to help eradicate homelessness in Scotland.

Josh Littlejohn MBE, founder of Social Bite, is calling on the people of Glasgow to get behind the event which aims to help people off the streets and into permanent homes.

Sleep in the Park, which is being supported by the Evening Times, was launched to fund the social enterprise’s Housing First project, which aims to create 800 mainstream flats for rough sleepers and provide wraparound support for tenants.

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So far, Glasgow has pledged the most flats of any Scottish city.

Private landlords, the local authority and housing associations in Glasgow have already pledged 300 properties for the programme, which will be used to house people who would otherwise be homeless.

The project would also include support for complex needs that many homeless people may suffer with – such as drug or alcohol addiction and mental health issues.

Josh told the Evening Times: “This is an opportunity for people you see sleeping rough or in hostels to get their own flat and basically the money is going to providing wraparound support for people so they don’t just get their own place, they get to support along with it.

“If they’ve got a drug addiction or mental health problems and don’t have the confidence to uphold a flat, don’t know how to manage money or have a bank account, rather just being given the keys and waiting for them to fail, they get a comprehensive support system to their needs.

“We are aiming to fund that support for a two-year period alongside the Scottish Government who have also committed funds to it and on that basis then we can help get 830 people off the streets and move the structural responses in the cities.”

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In Glasgow, Sleep in the Park will take over Kelvingrove Park with performances from Amy Macdonald, KT Tunstall, Frightened Rabbit and a bedtime story by Loki (Darren McGarvey).

Josh added: “We set up this big event in December last year and it was based on the premise that there was no reason why Scotland couldn’t eradicate homelessness. No one should have to be homeless here.

“If you look at the statistics and break it down city by city, then that’s not really an idealist notion.

“It’s something that could be achieved if we dedicated our efforts to it. Last year’s event collectively raised £4m which is now being invested in all of our programmes. We hope it will help bring 830 people off the streets when they reach fruition.

“We decided to try and keep the momentum going and spread it geographically and put on four events in one night, hopefully people from across the cities will take part.

“I’m looking forward to the music and it’s going to fun getting all the acts around the cities.

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“Frightened Rabbit will be great as its is a pretty big deal after for them to be doing this gig after Scott’s death.

“It’s really poignant and there’s obviously a big overlap with mental health and homelessness so I just think that’s a really nice fit and it will be really special for any of their fans coming along.

“It’s an incredible sight to see all the bodies sleeping out as well.”

Fifty per cent of the profits from sales of the Evening Times ‘Times Past’ calendar will be going towards the fundraiser.

Henry Ainslie, deputy editor of the Evening Times, said: “The Evening Times is proud to back the Glasgow leg of the Social Bite Sleep in the Park 2018, and the fantastic work being done by Josh and his team at Social Bite.

“By approaching homelessness in this way, we can help raise awareness not only of the scale of the problem here in Glasgow and throughout the country, but also of how it can be tackled through tangible means.

“The money raised through these four events across Scotland will make a real difference in their respective cities, and provide an effective springboard in the bid to rid Scotland’s streets of homelessness.

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“Josh has already assembled the support of an incredible array of talent from all four corners of Scotland, and now we need the public to play their part in making this goal a reality.”

Social Bite was launched by Josh Littlejohn and Alice Thompson in 2012 with opening of a cafe on Rose Street, Edinburgh.

In the years since, the social enterprise expanded with two cafes in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and one in Aberdeen, which in total employs around 107 members of staff - a quarter of which come from a homeless background.

Through working and helping with those in the cycle of homelessness, Littlejohn was able to gain an understanding of the scale of the problem.

He explains: “One of the things we learned is that everyone kept telling us the same story. There is a bit of a misconception in some respects with homelessness - that it could happen to any of us and we’re all just three paycheck’s away, which to some extent is true but most of us in life have a bit of a safety net.

“Ultimately if none of this works out for me, Social Bite goes bankrupt and I develop mental health problems, realistically I would still be able to live with my mum or extended family. I have a support network.

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“The story we kept hearing from homeless people was that they grew up in the care system, more often than not they suffered abuse growing up or childhood trauma, got bounced about children’s home and foster homes and became homeless in their late teenage years.

“There was parallels of the same stories on repeat. We realised that homelessness is a systemic problem as opposed to one that’s about individual decision making.

“You kind of have this preconceived idea that they are an alcoholic or a junkie and have made decisions have led them into that position but that just isn’t the case.”

CALL TO BACK CITY’S FUNDRAISER

EVENING Times readers are being encouraged to grab their sleeping bags and pull on their best knitwear to take the city one step closer to eradicating homelessness.

Scotland’s biggest city will be wrapping up for a night under the stars in Kelvingrove Park on December 8 to raise money for Social Bite and help those in need find their home this Christmas.

With performances from Amy Macdonald, KT Tunstall and the songs of Frightened Rabbit, Sleep in the Park will be bringing Glaswegians together for a good cause.

READ MORE: 6 things to do if you see a rough sleeper in freezing weather

Members of the public can join Sleep in the Park by committing to raise £100.

Businesses can sponsor the event by signing up a team of five with a minimum fundraising commitment for £3,000.

To find out more about taking part, visit sleepinthepark.co.uk.

Social Bite founder Josh Littlejohn said: “For Sleep in the Park 2018 we’re doing something that has never been done before – a simultaneous multi-city sleep out.

“We’re asking for 12,000 people in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee to keep the momentum going and raise £6 million.

“We were completely blown away by the thousands of people who joined this movement and supported Sleep in the Park last year.

“We want to build on this across the whole of Scotland.

“By organising these events locally, we will invest the funds so that homeless people in those cities are housed and given the support they need to get back on their feet.”