At Harriet Gardens, homeless residents find more than a roof — they find time to heal
South Lanarkshire: For many without a home, the nights are spent in noisy hostels where doors slam and sleep rarely comes. But at Harriet Gardens, a new village that opened this week in South Lanarkshire, the door that closes is your own.
The 15 timber “nest” units each have one bed, one bath, and a lock. Beyond them sits a shared kitchen where residents can cook for themselves, a gym, and a community room built for slow mornings and real conversations.
The $3.5 million project, built by charity Social Bite and managed with the Salvation Army, was designed around one idea: give people space and stability, and they start to rebuild.
“Hostels can be chaos,” said Social Bite’s Josh Littlejohn. “People are surviving, not healing. If you create an environment where people grow in confidence, build relationships and then leave homelessness behind, then that is the first step.”
South Lanarkshire has 1,500 homeless residents, up 33% in six years. Councils in Glasgow and Edinburgh spend “millions and millions” on temporary accommodation, Littlejohn told, yet many cycle back through the system.
Jacqueline Fernie, a homelessness and housing manager for the council, pushed for Harriet Gardens after visiting Social Bite’s first village in Edinburgh. “I saw people breathing again,” she said. “I wanted that here.”
For residents, there’s no eviction date. Support workers from the Salvation Army will help with jobs, mental health, and finding permanent homes, but on the tenant’s timeline.
