History of Buy a Bed
In previous years, funds raised through the Buy a Bed campaign have helped provide emergency accommodation and 24-hour support for people sleeping rough in Edinburgh, through our Rapid Re-accommodation Welcome Centre.
Thanks in part to the generous support of so many individual, church and corporate donors, this service has been established as a trusted and proven response to the homelessness crisis faced in Edinburgh. This year, the Welcome Centre is fully funded through a local authority contract.
Since opening the doors in October 2025 at our new building at ELS House, the service has run throughout the year, and will remain open until the end of March 2027 in the first instance.
What’s different this year?
Buy a Bed is no longer about just one bed for one night, but now supports Bethany’s work across Scotland with over 9,000 people.
This year, every Buy a Bed gift will go further, helping us reach people through our holistic, interconnected and personal approach:
Homelessness Prevention
People can become homeless for a number of reasons. We address these issues and help increase people’s resilience to the causes of homelessness before it occurs.
Crisis Intervention
As well as fighting hard against the causes of homelessness, we are there for people in their moment of need and our Crisis Intervention teams are equipped for just this.
Housing & Support
It’s not enough to just intervene in a moment of crisis, we want to provide people who have been homeless with sustainable solutions in which they can thrive and grow.
How does Buy a Bed work?
Every donation of £25 is eligible to receive a special Buy a Bed gift card, illustrated by Helen Stark exclusively for this year. The card can be given as an ethical Christmas present.
Donations that come under £25 are not eligible to receive a gift card, but will go towards supporting our work ending homelessness across Scotland.