Overview

Social Bite, a chain of cafés in Scotland with a social mission of ending homelessness, set up their first village in 2017 – a highly-supported community for up to 20 people across 11 prefab wooden homes, called ‘Nest Houses’. The village is located on a site made available for a period of four years by the City of Edinburgh Council. Social Bite has been engaged in work beyond the village, organizing the international campaign called The World’s Big Sleepout, which took place in 52 cities throughout the world, and created and launched Scotland’s Housing First program – securing 830 mainstream flats across 5 cities.

Context:

• As of 2019, there are 51,365 people experiencing homelessness in Scotland, including 35,654 adults and 15,711 children, up 4% from 2018 (source).
• The 2016 Sleep Out invited 300 leading business people and policy makers to spend a night outside, raising £550,000, and raising awareness of the costs of the current system (which
  spends around £6 million per year on an overstretched, temporary accommodation system) and proposed an alternative
  model.
• The Social Bite Village is a transitory space, not a permanent
  home, with residents supported to move into mainstream
  tenancies, employment and education after 12-18 months.
• The Social Bite Village has gained a following among celebrities, visited and supported by George Clooney, Leonardo Dicaprio, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Malala Yousafzai and many others.

Mission: Provide an alternative to encampments to help move people off the streets, through temporary housing facilities, and into long-term housing.

Site

Owner: City of Edinburgh – the village is required to leave the
site after 4 years. As such, the entire village is made to be portable for relocation to a new site in the future.

Previous Use: Vacant grass lot.

Use Arrangement: A four-year lease between Social Bite (acts as the landlord) and the city council. Social Bite, a nonprofit, does not pay any rent or council tax (property/real estate tax).

Site Selection Criteria Considerations: City Council’s selected the site _____

Funding

*approximations

Development

Lead Deal Coordinator		Social Bite Ltd, Social Bite Villages are owned by a parent charity the Social Bite Fund.
Community Engagement		___
Construction Management		__
Shelter Vendor / Manufacturer		___
On-Site Assembly		___