Stephen’s story is the first to be told as part of This is Community, a new campaign marking 60 years of Simon Community Scotland, built around the experiences of the people it supports.

Six years ago, Stephen started coming to Simon Community Scotland’s Access Hub in Glasgow. He had significant experience of substance use and was homeless, having spent time in prison. 

He’s got his own home now, but comes back most days for a City of Glasgow College course, and to give something back to the same community that once supported him.

The Access Hub is open from 9am-5pm seven days a week for anyone who is experiencing homelessness, providing drop-in practical and emotional support, including assistance with benefits, health and wellbeing, financial and legal advice, emergency food packs and vouchers, clothing and digital access. 

A range of programmes, including a harm reduction service, is also available.

The service is crucial to support people who are experiencing homelessness or are rebuilding their lives. The Hub is designed to be an easy-access one-stop shop, supporting people in, through and beyond homelessness. The partnership with the City of Glasgow College runs classes to give people the support and skills they need to sustain a home. 

Stephen’s situation is an important example of the need to provide tailored support to people if Scotland is to help people end the cycle of homelessness, which is often lifelong. 

He was first sent to a secure unit when he was just ten years old and had spent much of his adult life in prison. In doing so, he missed much of his son and grandson growing up, having ended up homeless for a decade.

‘Simmy’ as he’s known, learned about Simon Community Scotland from someone he had met in prison, who had been helped by them. By his own admission, he was an ‘addict’ and was living in different hostels across the city.

“I was in a bad state, and he brought me here, but I’ve not looked back,” he said.

“They sat me down and said, ‘don’t be scared’, if you have anything you need to talk about you can say anything you want. They really helped me. They said that there’s always a light at the end of the tunnel and there is.

“I had never done any schooling and I ended up doing a college course. They did a lot of things to help me with my house, as I had never known how to look after a house.

“I didn’t know how to deal with money, to get a bank account. It was a lot at first. I didn’t have a phone, and didn’t know how to work one. I just wanted to smash them but they showed me.”

Simmy still thinks it’s the “worst invention ever” because “nobody talks to each other”.

The many years apart from his family took a toll on Simmy, too. He’s now reconciled with his son Connor and is able to spend time with his grandson Jude.

“You don’t know what you’ve got until you’ve not got it,” he says.

Now Simmy participates in a men’s group twice a week and volunteers at an urban garden in Polmadie.

He now has a two-bedroom home, and is trying to get used to the size of the accommodation. Simmy still finds it difficult to cook, but is learning to do so in his college course.

The house in itself isn’t the goal; it’s about being able to maintain and live well in it. Having spent long periods in the justice system, he was used to everything being done for him.

“The house is hard, and I’ve not painted it yet, but all my stuff is in. I’m getting used to not asking someone for water. I was institutionalised.

“Simon Community has been brilliant with me, and I have been coping better with things. When I woke up this morning, I had a cup of tea, a shower, that’s the goal.

It’s that routine - and the support that comes with it - which is helping keep him off drugs.

“Simon Community is a community, we all help each other. There might be a hundred people through the door, but the staff are all the same. It’s like a family.”

Yvonne, a member of the Simon Community Scotland team who has supported Simmy, spoke about the role the Access Hub has played in his recovery.

She said: “I knew that he was crying out for help. He didn’t know how to navigate it, but the power of the activities, the routine is how he gets out of bed in the morning.

“He was doing well with different case workers, but then self-sabotaging after three or four months, and I think it was because he didn’t have things to do. College helped, and he always turned up. He’s such a hard worker.

“I’ve seen such a big change in Simmy since coming to the Hub. He’s now working towards his qualifications and giving back to the same community that supported him. He gives back so much.”

The campaign’s launch comes at a time when services like the Access Hub have never been more important.

Around 500 people a week now come through its doors (it’s been rising of late), while outreach teams are still finding between 20 and 30 people sleeping rough on Glasgow’s streets each night.

That’s alongside hundreds of calls to the charity’s freephone lines and street team engagements every week.

Nationally, Scottish Government figures released this month show 19,004 households, including 10,715 children, were living in temporary accommodation as of March 2026, the highest figures on record.

Simon Community Scotland CEO Lorraine McGrath said: “We see people do amazing things every day despite experiencing the horrendous impacts of homelessness and everything that has led them to that crisis. It can take years for people to recover and rebuild mentally and physically.

“Time, trust and connection are absolutely vital, but only they can find better in their lives. To do that, each person needs easy access to safety, stability and the right support, care and opportunity. Many organisations celebrate anniversaries. We do not see a growing need for our responses as something to celebrate.

“We have chosen instead to mark our 60 years of delivery with the ambition and determination to meet that growing need. The housing emergency and cost of living crisis continue to hit hard. But we must never give up on holding and fostering hope, and like Simmy himself says, we need to show that there is always light at the end of the tunnel.

“We know that people are amazing. Simmy is amazing. It’s Simmy who has worked to find and build a better life. He was able to grab what we offer and do incredible things for his own life and the others that he now inspires and supports.

“Our work is never easy. We are a community, built on trust and connections. We believe in people. It’s incredible to see people find belief in themselves, often for the first time.

“That is the heart of Simon Community Scotland as we mark this 60th anniversary. Our focus is on the incredible people we support and the many who work every day to provide the space and care for each one of them to find their way to better in their lives.”