Our Breathing Space accommodation provides community-based, temporary accommodation for those who have become homeless and have lost their entitlement to support.
Our accommodation provision provides community-based, temporary accommodation for those who have become destitute and have no recourse to public funds. Across Breathing Space, the properties can host either one individual or a maximum of 2 people for as long as 18 months – as we know accommodation alone does not support positive long-term outcomes for people. The accommodation service is designed to operate as part of a package of support which includes legal support and other third sector organisations. Refugee Sanctuary Scotland provides practical support in the form of housing, a weekly cash allowance and a bus pass. We also provide ongoing trauma-informed emotional support.
This project evolved out of the Destitute Asylum Seeker Service (DASS) which was a Refugee Sanctuary Scotland partnership project that ran from 2014 to 2021. In developing Breathing Space, we listened to feedback from those who stayed with us and heard that what they most valued was the ongoing support of staff, the weekly cash allowance and bus pass which gave them the freedom to live an independent life despite their circumstances.
