Edinburgh City Mission (ECM) is a Christian charity that aims to uplift those in the city experiencing deprivation, isolation and exclusion by ending spiritual, social and physical poverty in Edinburgh. We run outreach programmes with churches, volunteers and partner organisations.
Categories
Beneficiaries
Situation
In 2024 there were 80,000 people in Edinburgh living on incomes below the UK poverty threshold, including one in five children. In the past year 33,976 refugees and asylum seekers have come to Scotland. Many struggle to get access to the right services and benefits and can face isolation and discrimination. Loneliness is on the rise, but it is almost exclusively those over the age of 65 who experience chronic loneliness. This is a comparable health risk to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
Solution
Our outreach programmes include: The Care Van, which provides food and drink to the homeless and deprived every day; five foodbanks; a clothesbank; Salaam, asylum seeker and refugee support; Two’s Company, a befriending programme for over 65s who are isolated and experiencing loneliness; An Open Hand, which provides birthday presents to children from families suffering financial hardship; and Nations, whose aim is networking and building unity between Edinburgh’s global Christian communities.
