Turning Point Scotland provides high-quality services like this across the country in the sectors of Homelessness and Prevention, Alcohol and Other Drugs, Justice and Learning Disabilities.

But despite these services delivering support in different sectors challenges are encountered due to the same issues.

Turning Point Scotland’s Five Asks of the next Scottish Government highlights these issues as the Scottish Parliament election on 7 May approaches.

The ‘Five Asks’ are:

1. Fund social care – We want the value and importance of social care recognised. Scottish Government policy depends on social care but it is repeatedly overlooked and increasingly attacked.
2. Close the implementation gap – We have the right ideas and don’t need new approaches. We need to address the barriers that stop us from doing what we said we would.
3. Commit to prevention - For 15 years since the Christie Commission report, a decisive shift to prevention has been discussed but never delivered.
4. Improve service integration – Public services are too fragmented. We need joined up support across housing, health, social care and justice services which wraps around people.
5. Invest in the third sector – The third sector is under threat. It plays a crucial role in social care and public services, delivering where statutory services cannot. We need more than just warm words.

Turning Point Scotland policy lead Faye Keogh further outlined the implementation gap, prevention and service integration issues facing the homelessness services. 
“We believe we have set the right goals, and those goals should be protected, but we have not yet delivered what we’ve promised,” she said.

“Our homelessness system is failing; we must simultaneously address that crisis by strengthening our response to homelessness, while also shifting towards the prevention of homelessness.

“We need better connections across the public service system – housing has a significant part to play in supporting health and social care outcomes, and health and social care needs should be a key element of local housing planning.”