Homelessness in Scotland : Cullen Property Smashes Fundraising Target

On Saturday 7th of December, members of our team slept out in Princes Street Gardens to raise money and awareness to tackle the issue of homelessness in Scotland during The World’s Big Sleepout. It was a wet and windy night and the conditions really brought home the plight of the homeless community in our society.

Over the last 3 years Cullen Property has supported all the Sleep Outs organised by Social Bite and with your help has raised nearly £30,000. First our founder, Malcolm Warrack, took part in a CEO Sleepout in 2016. A year later a team of 7 staff took part in the first Sleep in the Park. It was an unforgettable experience on the coldest night of the year and reinforced to us all the appalling challenges that rough sleepers experience on a nightly basis. Last year our chairman, Ben Hartman, slept out again, thankfully on a much milder night.

Cullen Property has been providing homes to our tenants since 1998. We are incredibly fortunate to live and work in Scotland’s beautiful capital city, but we are also painfully aware that many are not so fortunate and some do not have anywhere to call home. As such, were determined to participate again this year.

A huge thank you to our generous clients, tenants, partner organisations, team, friends and of course family for helping us smash our fundraising target of £5000.
This year, we wanted to match all donations made up to the sum of £3,000. As such, we have raised a grand total of £7,368 so far! With this collective effort, many other organisations and individuals alongside Cullen Property have managed to raise huge sums of money which we hope will make a difference for the homeless community. According to SocialBite, the funds can be spent in the following ways:

• £1,000 (provides a shower, hot meal and clothes cleaned for 200 people)
• £1,000 (provides a home for four months for a homeless single mum and her kids)
• £1,000 (could provide hot meals for over 940 people experiencing homelessness)
• £7,500 (can support one person with a history of rough sleeping, mental health and addiction issues in a mainstream 'Housing First' flat for one year)
• £10,000 (could provide 300 young people with a life-changing mentor who will help them get back on their feet)
• £10,000 (will run 50 employability sessions for young people to help them leave the streets for good)
• £10,000 (provides a safe night's sleep for 250 people in a shelter)
• £40,000 (would pay for 500 families to engage in family mediation)
• £40,000 (would enable 25 people with complex needs, including those associated with poor mental health and addiction issues, to maintain their tenancy and prevent street homelessness.

We hope to have helped bring the issue of homelessness to public consciousness. Ending homelessness in Scotland is an ongoing effort and we must all remember to remain compassionate towards those who find themselves displaced. We have certainly been reflecting on what the true meaning of home is to us, and is something we will never take for granted.

Cullen Property is still raising money for this cause until the 24th of December. Please give what you can here.