The Talbot Association, which has been supporting Glasgow for more than 50 years, operates six supported accommodation sites across the city and serves approximately 200,000 meals each year. ' The Lighthouse Project is designed to address what the charity calls a 'recovery gap' by helping people progress from stability toward improved wellbeing, confidence, and active participation in training, volunteering, or paid work. ' The project will be based at Kingston Halls and will offer counselling, structured activities, and employability support.
It will also provide arts, mindfulness, digital inclusion, and employability training. A partnership with Glasgow Clyde College will see trainee counsellors working alongside structured activities in The Lighthouse Project. The Talbot Association plans to involve people with lived experience of homelessness in shaping and delivering parts of the initiative.
We have been quietly supporting Glasgow for more than 50 years, but many people don’t realise the scale of what happens inside our buildings.
' The launch comes at a time of increasing financial strain within the social care sector. The Talbot Association largely relies on housing benefit for funding and receives no dedicated public funding for its food provision. The charity's meals programme is supported through donations.
The Talbot Association was founded in 1970 by Vincent Buchanan and a group of volunteers as a soup kitchen during a period of severe homelessness in Glasgow. It now provides supported accommodation with private rooms and shower facilities. The charity is named after Matt Talbot, the Irish figure known for his recovery from addiction, whose life has inspired its mission.
We belong to Glasgow, and the people we support belong to Glasgow.
Last year marked the centenary of Matt Talbot’s death, which the charity marked with a special Mass and reflection on his message of dignity, hope, and recovery. The specific start date or timeline for The Lighthouse Project has not been announced, and the exact funding model or budget remains unclear. However, the initiative represents a significant expansion of the charity's efforts to support long-term recovery for homeless individuals in Glasgow.