A Kirk leader is to raise the case of a charity that supports homeless Scots in London with the first minister.
The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the Right Rev Dr Russell Barr, pledged to intervene after visiting Borderline.
In the past it has received regular support from the Scottish Government, but funding was refused last year.
An application for a £59,000 grant for 2017/18 is currently being considered and the charity expects to hear later this month whether or not it has been successful.
To survive in the meantime it has had to dip into its reserves.
Dr Barr, who founded Edinburgh-based Fresh Start which helps people who have been homeless make a home for themselves, met staff this week.
Afterwards he said he would talk to Nicola Sturgeon about Borderline’s work.
He added: “The streets aren’t paved with gold and being homeless in London is a brutal experience for most people.
“The help that Borderline is able to provide is literally a lifeline.
“I will be raising with the Scottish Government the question of their support, because although it is beyond the Scottish borders it is still supporting Scottish people.
“I will be raising that with the first minister.”
Chief Executive Shona Fleming said Borderline was the only charity specifically helping Scots – first and second generation – in London.
She added: “I firmly believe the people we are helping here are far more vulnerable in some ways … because they are further away from home.”
She said a large part of the work focused on encouraging people to reconnect with family or friends back in Scotland where there are more resources and potential support networks.
But she insisted it wasn’t simply a case of buying a bus ticket or shifting the problem, rather helping to build bridges.
Scots spend longer on the streets before accessing services and are some of the most entrenched rough sleepers in the capital.
They are over-represented in London’s UK-born homeless population.
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said bids for housing voluntary sector grants are evaluated in line with whether they “fit with eligibility and our core priorities”.
She added: “Borderline were not successful in their last application because, in relation to other applications, they didn’t provide sufficient evidence of this.”
