​Social Bite offers hope for the homeless with NestHouses - Vladimir McTavish

​​There are only two days left until Christmas, but it is still not too late to give a gift which will make a lasting contribution to the life of someone in greatest need this winter.

Homelessness charity Social Bite has unveiled its nest house prototype as part of the launch of its fourth Festival of Kindness

If you happen to be walking through St Andrew Square Gardens from George Street towards the St James Quarter, on your right you may spot a small wooden building resembling a summer house. Take the time to go inside.

This is a replica, or show home if you like, of one of the living spaces called NestHouses in the Social Bite Village in Edinburgh. This initiative was launched in 2018 to create an innovative, highly-supported community to help break the cycle of homelessness.

Take time to talk to the people on site about the work they are currently doing, and about their plans for the future. Social Bite are currently working alongside South Lanarkshire Council and Dundee City to develop similar communities in those areas.

On Monday most of us will be enjoying a hot meal and limitless alcohol as we celebrate a festival which marks the birth of Jesus Christ – according to legend, in case you forgot, a child born in a stable because his mother could not finds a bed for the night. Which makes this initiative all the more relevant.

This Christmas, more people than ever will be sleeping rough on the streets of Edinburgh. Across the country as a whole, homelessness has increased by 13 per cent over the last year. That is the size of the problem being faced nationwide.

Rather than an overnight shelter, the Social Bite Village provides each resident with their own living space, internet connection and an address. This gives them access to the benefits system and also enables them to apply for jobs.

Each of the NestHouses costs around £40,000 to build. So if you do visit the site in St Andrew Square, make a donation if you can afford to do so. If you don’t get the opportunity to visit, search Social Bite on line. Alternatively, you can visit their cafe in Rose Street and buy a coffee and a sandwich for someone homeless.

I have donated the equivalent of my fee for writing this column, which will surprise many regular readers. “What, you get paid for this nonsense?”

My contribution alone will not break the bank. But in the words of a company that rakes in millions at this time of year, “every little helps”.