An action plan is being drawn up to reduce the growing number of people in the north-east citing poor mental health as the cause for ending up homeless.
In Aberdeen, there has been a 15% increase in the number of people assessed as homeless with at least one “support need”, up from 542 to 623.
There has also been a 6% rise in that figure in Aberdeenshire, from 502 to 534.
They are the highest levels recorded since the Scottish Government began collecting data a decade ago.
As the Shelter Scotland homelessness charity marked its 50th anniversary yesterday, its Aberdeen branch staged a conference aiming to redress that issue and the problem of youth homelessness.
While the support needs referenced also include learning difficulties and physical disability, staff at the city facility say they have noticed a “growing proportion” of the people they help suffering from poor mental health.
The Shelter experts were joined by representatives from Aberdeen City Council, NHS Grampian and mental health charities.
Manager of the local Shelter branch, Mark Thomson, said: “Every day we see people who find it hard to act on our advice about their housing situation because of the effects of poor mental health.
“This has always been a feature of homelessness and housing problems but we think it is getting worse instead of better.
“Fighting to keep a home or get out of homelessness takes a huge amount of mental effort and for those struggling with depression or anxiety it can simply be too much.”
Mr Thomson added that there was a 6% increase in youth homelessness in Aberdeen compared to last year, but a 14% decrease in applications from young people in Aberdeenshire.
He said: “There are still a significant number of young people who find themselves without a safe place to call home.”
Shelter Scotland helped 1,377 people in Aberdeen last year.
