About us
Our story
Responding to changing needs. Removing barriers. Helping people rebuild.
The Marie Trust has developed its services by listening to people affected by homelessness and recognising the barriers they face in accessing healthcare, counselling, education and practical support.
Some projects have grown into long-term services, while others were delivered for a specific period. Each has contributed to the knowledge, partnerships and approach that shape our work today.
More than a roof
Homelessness is rarely only about the absence of accommodation. People may also experience trauma, poor physical and mental health, isolation, poverty and exclusion from services.
Throughout our history, The Marie Trust has worked to understand these overlapping needs and develop support that is accessible, compassionate and shaped around the individual.
“When people get to The Marie Trust, they feel they can breathe.”
Our journey
2009
Removing barriers to education
The Marie Trust developed an education programme designed to help people affected by homelessness access learning in a welcoming and supportive environment.
The programme expanded to include creative arts, textiles, photography and social subjects, supported through partnerships with Glasgow colleges. In 2025, work developed with Glasgow Kelvin College was recognised at the College Development Network Awards.
Today, education remains one of The Marie Trust's core services, helping learners build skills, confidence and routes towards further learning and employment.
2013
Making therapy more accessible
The Marie Trust established a specialist Counselling and Psychotherapy Service for people affected by homelessness, recognising trauma and barriers to conventional mental-health support.
The service was developed in response to people who often found traditional routes difficult to access or sustain.
Today, free, trauma-informed counselling and psychotherapy remain central to our work, alongside the development of art therapy.
2016–2019
Understanding nutrition and health
(Time-limited project due to cut in funding) The Marie Trust employed a dietitian to support people experiencing malnutrition, poor physical health and difficult relationships with food.
The project deepened our understanding of the connections between homelessness, trauma, mental health and nutrition. That learning helped inform the way food, wellbeing and practical support were delivered through our services.
2019–2022
Taking healthcare support to people
Working with local partners, The Marie Trust delivered outreach aimed at improving access to healthcare for people disconnected from health and social services.
The project reflected support from a growing understanding that when people face multiple barriers to treatment, support needs to come to them.
It also reinforced the value of meeting people where they are, rather than expecting them to navigate multiple clinical settings.
2023
Improving access to dental care
(Time-limited project due to cut in funding) The Marie Trust developed a partnership with Clyde Munro Dental Group to reduce barriers to oral healthcare for people experiencing homelessness.
The work focused on ensuring people who were often disconnected from dental services could access treatment and avoid longer-term oral health problems.
2024
Supporting people through hospital and beyond
The Hospital Outreach Service was developed to support people whose homelessness was affecting, or affected by, their hospital stay.
Support continues beyond discharge, helping people access accommodation, benefits, healthcare and other essential services.
Today, Hospital Outreach is one of The Marie Trust's three core services.
2026
Expanding creative therapeutic support
Following a successful pilot, weekly art-therapy sessions began at the Albion Street hub.
Delivered through one-to-one Friday sessions, the service will be created to offer another way for people to explore emotions and experiences that can be difficult to express verbally, with group work planned as the service develops.
