Your location: Challenging behaviour in services
Background to Link Up
Link Up was set up in 1999. It was developed through a partnership between Glasgow City Council, Greater Glasgow Health Board, Glasgow Council for Single Homeless and TPS to address the complex needs of people who sleep rough in Glasgow, many of whom have alcohol and drug misuse issues and mental health issues in addition to their homelessness.
Link Up is funded through the Rough Sleepers Initiative (RSI) and Supporting People funding streams.
Mission, ethos and principles
Link Up was set up to provide a service aimed at reducing rough sleeping by producing a direct access service responsive to individuals needs. Central to our service is a belief that service users are the most important people in the service and should be treated with dignity and respect at all times.
An important part of the respect accorded to service users in Link Up is the staff's non-judgemental approach to the problems and issues faced by service users. Sometimes this means accepting that a person is not ready or does not wish to change their lifestyle, but may require help to address their current crisis. It also means recognising relapse as part of the therapeutic process in that service users may lapse several times on their way to making change in their lives.
Another important principle of the service is the commitment to working with people who have been excluded from other services in Glasgow. According to Glasgow Homelessness Network, a third of people sleeping rough in the city have been barred from accommodation. For these people, Link Up may be the only service that will accommodate them.