Glasgow City Council has unveiled three contactless card donation points as a way of donating money to support vulnerable people.
The three points have been installed at Central Station under the Street Change Glasgow initiative, with partners including homelessness charity Simon Community Scotland, the city’s health and social care partnership and the council’s IT provider CGI.
The initiative is based on a similar scheme in Manchester. It involves collecting money through the donation points, using contactless bank cards, then making payments to individuals through Glasgow’s Street Team.
Money from the fund will be used to pay for items such as travel to or clothing for job interviews, to provide tools or protective clothing required to take up a job offer or continue employment or to help people access training.
Reaching people
Lorraine McGrath, chief executive of Simon Community Scotland said: "We are constantly working to find new ways to reach, respond and resolve the kind of desperation that drives someone to street beg. Street Change Glasgow provides one such new way for us to reach and bring new options for people to assist them to move away from the harms that result from street begging.”
Other partners involved in Street Change Glasgow include Glasgow City Mission, Turning Point, Red Media, The Big Issue, Housing First Scotland, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, Homeless Network Scotland, Police Scotland and British Transport Police.
