Health and Social Care

Integration Team visit the Social Bite Housing Project

August 23, 2017 by Isla Bisset No Comments | Category Communities

The Social Bite house sits in a shady spot in St Andrews Square

Nestled in a shady corner of St Andrew’s Square sits a curious little red house, inviting inquisitive visitors. So a group of us set out on a sunny afternoon to investigate.

The house arrived mysteriously in the early hours of last Saturday morning with the help of two 8 tonne forklifts and a group of enthusiastic workers – no fairy dust required! See below for a short video of the its journey from the Highlands to the Square.

The house, designed by architect Jonathan Avery of Tiny House Scotland, is the prototype home for the new Social Bite Village. The village, to be located in the Granton area, on land donated by Edinburgh City Council, will provide accommodation for up to 20 people from a homeless background for around 12 to 15 months.

Built by Carbon Dynamics, a Social Enterprise based in the Highlands, the house is made from locally sourced sustainable materials. These energy efficient eco-friendly homes will each have two bedrooms, a shared bathroom and shower, cosy lounge with wood burner, and a small kitchen and dining area.

One of the bedrooms

The cosy sitting room furnished by Homer

Social Bite staff told us that residents will receive a range of support including counselling, money management advice, cooking lessons, exercise and therapy. They will also learn new skills to help get their life back on track, working in an onsite vegetable garden, chicken coup and furniture workshop, as well as given work placements in Social Bite’s shops and restaurant.

At the end of their stay residents will be supported to move onto permanent accommodation and employment. The Social Bite aim to support 20 new residents out of homelessness every year through this project.

The prototype will be on display in St Andrew’s Square until 31st August.

You can donate to the Social Bite project on their Just Giving page .

The Fit House

Carbon Dynamics are now working with Albyn Housing Association to develop an innovative housing solution that will “enable people to maintain a sense of wellbeing throughout their lives. The Fit House concept is a technology enabled smart house that promotes wellbeing and preventative health solutions up to and including end of life care.

The concept supports residents to take charge of their own wellbeing. At the same time they can meet their health needs through a system of innovative technology and design.

The Fit House “is a house for life, not just an end of life solution. The technology enables young people to maintain a sense of wellbeing and morphs as the person responds to the physical and mental changes that life brings.”

Watch this space for more news on the Fit House project as it develops. You can also view the short video below for the ‘Story so far’.

Tags: homeless, Social Care, support

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