It’s not something you tend to think about, but take a moment or two and you may be surprised how often you are asked for your home address.
Opening a bank account, ordering goods online, having a parcel delivered, even booking a table at a restaurant can all require some sort of home ID.
It’s hard to imagine how difficult life must be for those with no permanent address.
Every year across Scotland, people from all walks of life can find themselves struggling with bad housing or, worse, becoming homeless.
That’s ordinary, hard-working people who, often due to circumstances outwith their control, can find themselves without a home.
Shelter Scotland helps over half a million people a year struggling under these circumstances, and campaigns to prevent it in the first place.
It is there so no one has to fight bad housing or homelessness on their own.
Without assistance from Shelter Scotland, mum of two, Fiona McPhee, 37, would have been “on the streets and homeless.”
Her story shows how easy it is to come close to losing your home.
“Everything changed for me with the introduction of the bedroom tax,” said Fiona who lives in Shortlees, Kilmarnock.
The Welfare Reform Act 2012 introduced an under-occupancy penalty, which became known as the “bedroom tax”, whereby council tenants with rooms deemed to be “spare” faced a reduction in housing benefit.
Fiona said: “Initially we shared the three-bedroomed house with my ex-partner’s parents, but after they died we got the house which I’ve now lived in for five years.
“I worked part-time, 10 hours a week, but with the introduction of the bedroom tax my rent jumped from £64 a week to more than £80 a week, which I couldn’t afford on my £90 wage.
”I quickly fell behind with rent payments and was threatened with eviction by the council.
“It was a horrible feeling thinking I’d lose my home and that my daughters, Charley, now 12, and Chloe, now 15, would be homeless.
”I contacted Shelter Scotland and they were a brilliant help.
“They took my case to court and, as a result, I was allowed to repay the back rent I owed at £20 a week.
“Without Shelter Scotland I’d have been out on the street with my two girls.”
SHELTER SCOTLAND
Shelter Scotland offers advice, information and advocacy to people in housing need, and by campaigning for lasting political change to end the housing crisis.
What it can’t do is offer a house to those who go to it for assistance, but it can give confidential help to people with all kinds of housing problems.
Between July 2013 and June this year, the Shelter Scotland helpline received dozens of calls for assistance – 288 from Highland, eight from Orkney, 10 from the Western Isles and 24 from Shetland included.
In order to help, Shelter Scotland needs donations.
One easy way is by leaving a gift to Shelter Scotland in your will so you can help it carry on the fight for better housing – and make a lasting difference to the lives of homeless and badly housed people.
The charity’s will-making guide takes you through everything you need to consider when preparing to make or update a will, and explains how you will be helping Shelter Scotland.
A legacy adviser is on hand to give individual support and advice, by e-mail or over the phone, whenever you need it.
Contact: shelterscotland.org/legacy