NEWS that from next week an emergency out-of-hours service for homeless people in Glasgow won’t open through the night on Tuesdays and Wednesdays should worry us all. (Evening Times October 16)

The Hamish Allan Centre, where people go at the lowest point of their lives to look for a warm and safe bed for the night, will no longer have a person on-hand but will ask homeless people to call a telephone number for help.

As someone with first-hand experience of homelessness, I can tell you that when you’re in that desperate situation, all you want is someone to speak to in person.

Asking the most vulnerable people in our society to telephone a stranger in the middle of the night, whilst at their lowest point in life, will only go to further stigmatise and isolate them.

Homeless people deserve more than this, especially with winter just around the corner.

David Duke, former homeless and founder of Street Soccer Scotland

Council not liable

REGARDING the collapsed building in Glasgow (Evening Times October 17), the council shouldn’t be paying for it.

Can you imagine what would happen if everyone thought they could leave their property repairs until they became critical and the council would then foot the bill?

Andrew Montgomery, posted online

Owners fault?

IT’S very unusual for tenements to deteriorate to this level of disrepair.

Was it down to neglect by the flat owners or was it caused by environmental issues, such as a mine shaft etc?

Ultimately it’s up to whoever owns the flats to sort it out.

Johnstone Smyth, posted online

Incompetence

I WAS interested and pleased to read that council leader Susan Aitken recently travelled to Munich to attend a conference which was of benefit to the people of Glasgow.

I would now like to see her make a far shorter journey to witness an embarrassing problem for the city which she could solve in a few days.

If she got up early and looked along George Street from George Square she would no doubt see that the globe lights outside the council offices at 231 George Street are the only lights in that street burning during daylight hours.

She should be asking her officials in that building why this happens and then these lights will be permanently switched off during daylight hours.

These globes are acting as a beacon for council incompetence.

Chrissie Francis, Merchant City