Social Bite Chews More!

Adding to his successful cafés, Josh Littlejohn is creating a village he hopes will help end homelessness in Scotland for good.

- Judy Vickers

ENDING homelessness in Scotland in a few bare years? If it was a politician saying it, it probably would sound pretty hollow and unlikely.

Yet coming from social entrepreneur Josh Littlejohn, there is at least the slight ring of possibility about it. After all, the co-founder of the Social Bite café chain has so far enticed former US president Bill Clinton here to speak at his business awards, celebrities Leonardo DiCaprio and George Clooney to eat at his diners, Olympian Chris Hoy to sleep rough and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to serve bacon rolls for breakfast.

He’s almost achieved his next vision – creating a village for the homeless in Edinburgh, under construction and due to welcome its first inhabitants in the summer. So when he says his ambition for the next five years is to bring together the private sector and charities “to really make the effort to end homelessness in Scotland” it doesn’t sound that implausible. “It’s a small enough country and it’s not such an intractable issue. I feel like it’s achievable,” the 30-year-old says.

The Social Bite village is a first step towards this. Edinburgh City Council has donated the land to build 10 houses in Granton, which will house 20 homeless people for around 12 months, while they receive support including employment links to help them into permanent homes.