EMMA RODDICK: If you've ever been homeless you're more likely to die young

During a month where it is hard for an SNP MSP to escape the ongoing leadership contest debates, headlines and arguments, it was wonderful to have Crisis visit Holyrood ahead of launching their new report, Home is the Foundation.

It served as a reminder to me of why I am in politics. It’s not for internal party debate, I got all that as an activist, it’s to end homelessness and help the people who need it most; including people who are facing the same situation I did as a teenager.

Lack of a safe and secure home affects every aspect of your life – it’s harder to register with a GP, apply for a job, or – the twisted irony not being lost on me – secure a tenancy. Home really is the foundation of being able to just live a happy life.

I want homelessness to be prevented. Even in cases where, for whatever reason, that hasn’t been possible, I don’t want it to be as damaging as it is now.

If you’ve been homeless at any point in your life, you’re more likely to die young. You’re more likely to be killed by drug or alcohol use. You’re more likely to be homeless again in future. I don’t believe these things need to be true, and I am so looking forward to scrutinising proposals for preventing homelessness and making tenancies more secure in the new Housing Bill this year.

Crisis launched their report at the Scottish Storytelling Centre, where many people involved – those with lived experience and local organisations like Inverness Foodstuff and Your Voice Lochaber – gathered to discuss its findings and question the cabinet secretary for housing, Shona Robison.

We covered everything from the extra risks Care Experienced young people face to rural homelessness and being able to keep your pet. It was a really valuable evening spent with true experts by experience, and I was completely reinvigorated by it and motivated to go back to my office and think about all the ways we can do better.

Having said all of that, and really meaning it, I will end by touching on the matter of the SNP leadership. It’s not been an easy time to be in the Parliament, to be honest – there are comments flying about that are inappropriate in civilised society, never mind the workplace. Sympathetic colleagues in other parties have patted me on the arm and reminded me they know all too well how this feels.

But, by the time this column is published, Nicola Sturgeon will have gone through her final FMQs, and we’ll be days from the next First Minister being voted in. This is nerve-wracking – a new leader of the country, and a new boss – but it’s also an exciting opportunity for a fresh start.

I hope that the next leader recognises and builds upon recent successes, but also that they can bring their own style and a change of pace on tackling climate change and poverty and, of course, gaining independence.

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