WHAT IS A SOCIAL BITE VILLAGE?
A beautiful, innovative, highly supported community, run in partnership with a local charity.
The purpose of the villages is to offer a supportive living environment and opportunities for people affected by homelessness, to assist them towards establishing an independent life. Surrounded by attractive landscaping, each village consist of 10-15 modern, sustainable houses, as well as a vibrant community hub for communal activities.
We always aim to regenerate and develop unused land when building a Social Bite Village, to bring value and create appealing surroundings for the local community.
Building the original Social Bite Village in Edinburgh
WHY ARE SOCIAL BITE VILLAGES NEEDED?
The idea for Social Bite Villages came out of conversations we had with people supported by and employed in our social enterprises, who had experience of living in temporary accommodation. They told us that often this type of accommodation does not provide a suitable platform for people to escape from homelessness, so we took action.
In major UK cities, there are traditionally two forms of temporary homelessness accommodation: homeless hostels or bed and breakfasts (B&Bs). Criticism from people who have stayed in these types of accommodation often include:
- a lack of autonomy in relation to curfews
- time restrictions for when you have to be in or out of the accommodation
- a lack of facilities for cooking and cleaning
- a negative experience of the social environment, which can compound mental health and addiction challenges
- a lack of support to improve their situation.
A safe place to call home
WHO LIVES IN A SOCIAL BITE VILLAGE?
We consider anyone who doesn’t have a safe place to call home as homeless. Village residents are typically people who require supported accommodation for a longer period before moving on to their own tenancy. There are a mix of men and women in each village.
Criteria for community membership includes a desire to make positive changes to your life, such as engaging in peer support, education or finding employment. Other criteria will vary for each village, according to the needs of prospective residents in the local area.
Residents are encouraged to contribute to the life of the community. The villages won’t accommodate residents whose behaviour disrupts the supportive environment or the local area.
The Community Hub in Edinburgh is a place for residents to meet, socialise and eat together
CREATING A SUPPORTED ENVIRONMENT THROUGH PARTNERSHIP
The village model is a supported community with a skilled and experienced team key to managing each site. The staff and volunteers on site with the residents play a crucial role in building relationships, offering positive role models, implementing wellbeing programmes, and providing consistent support.
For each village, Social Bite identifies local partners who can provide expertise tailored to the experience of people affected by homelessness in their area.
Our partnership with Cyrenians at the Edinburgh village is absolutely integral the success of the Village Model
DESIGNED FOR THE FUTURE
The beautiful, thoughtful design of the village buildings sets them apart from traditional forms of temporary accommodation. Residents have their own, private rooms or houses, and can also access larger open-plan environments in the community hubs. Here they can socialise, prepare and enjoy meals together, and develop new skills for independent living.
Each Social Bite Village was designed by Ecosystems Technologies and made entirely in Scotland, using Scottish timber. The villages are assembled and ready to live in much faster than regular housing construction projects, thanks to Ecosystems Technologies’ modular ‘offsite’ methods of construction. With 300,000 houses needed to address Scotland’s housing crisis, the factory-style approach to house-building could help meet government priorities much sooner if it was rolled out on a wider scale.
The community hub is the heart of each Social Bite Village
A PROVEN MODEL FOR CHANGE
Since 2018, Social Bite has worked with Cyrenians to successfully run a village for people affected by homelessness in Edinburgh. During this time, around 100 residents have lived at the village and received support.
In a survey of current residents in October 2020, 67% said their time at the village had helped them feel they could sustain a future tenancy. 86% of residents said their time at the village had helped them build new relationships. The positive presence of the village is testament to its effective management and highly supportive culture.
The overall ambition is to create a full circle solution to the issue of homelessness – from housing support to employment. In doing so we hope to alter the course of some of Scotland’s most vulnerable people for the better – swapping a destiny of poverty and exclusion for one of compassionate support and inclusion. This, in turn, will provide a blueprint for addressing homelessness that can be replicated either by other private individuals, other charities or governments in Scotland or further afield.
We do not believe this is a one-stop solution for all homelessness, but for a subset of the homeless population who have fewer complex-needs, do not have a present addiction issue, and are motivated by living in a community and achieving employment and independent living. We believe we can create a scalable solution.