Scottish Catholic Observer

The charity found that homelessness rates are expected to rise by more than 50 per cent in the next 25 years.

There are currently 11,800 people in Scotland sleeping rough, living in hostels, staying in unsuitable temporary accommodation, couch surfing, sleeping in cars, or living in squats or refuges, according to the charity.

However, research indicates that this figure could jump to an alarming 12,200 by 2021, before increasing to 18,100 by 2041.

“The fact that rates of homelessness are rising in a wealthy country like Scotland is a matter of great shame for society,” Bishop Nolan, president of the Church’s Justice and Peace Commission, said. “No one in this country should have to sleep in the streets, in doorways or in bus shelters and I hope and pray that they day will soon come, when no one does.”

The crisis report argues that if current economic policies do not change, the number of people sleeping rough could jump from 800 to 1,500, while shorter-term figures could see the number of people in unsuitable temporary accommodation rise by a third.

The research, carried out by Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh for the charity, showed the number of people couch-surfing is set increase by almost a quarter over the next decade.

The reports suggest that at one time during 2016 there were 800 people spending one night sleeping rough, 5,200 homes sofa-surfing, and 2,100 households in unsuitable temporary accommodation in Scotland.

Meanwhile, 2,300 households were living in hostels, and a further 1,400 in other circumstances such as squats, women’s refuges, winter night shelters, tents, cars or public transport.

“This year Crisis marks its 50th anniversary, but that’s little cause for celebration,” the charity’s chief executive John Sparkes said. “We still exist because homelessness still exists, and today’s report makes it only too clear that unless we take action as a society, the problem is only going to get worse with every year that passes.

“That means more people sleeping on our streets, in doorways or bus shelters, on the sofas of friends or family, or getting by in hostels and B&Bs.

“In order to tackle this, it’s crucial we first understand the scale of the problem.”

The Scottish Government has committed to building 50,000 affordable new homes by 2021, 35,00 of which will be for social rent.

“Now is the time for action and we look forward to working with the Scottish Government to find solutions and bring these forecasts down,” Mr Sparkes said. “We can’t do this in isolation though, which is why we’re calling on the public to back our Everybody In campaign and help us build a movement for change.”