SLURP campaigns to raise awareness of homelessness, housing insecurity, food poverty, and the wider inequalities connected to them.
Alongside providing practical support through our volunteering and fundraising schemes, we explore why people are pushed into homelessness and how issues such as high rents, insecure tenancies and a lack of genuinely affordable housing make secure homes harder to access.
We want campaigning to feel accessible. Whether you are interested in research, events, or simply learning more, you can help challenge stigma, raise awareness and take action.
Upcoming Campaigns Events
Keep an eye on this page…
Student Housing
Only 10.5%
of surveyed students relied on their student loan alone to pay rent.
£773 a month
was the average student rent, an increase of 22.4% in just two years.
56.9%
said the university had not made it clear who to contact about housing problems.
Up from 2.6% to 4.2%
The proportion of students without a tenancy agreement.
31.7%
of surveyed students were in paid employment alongside their studies.
58.2%
of surveyed students reported at least some level of concern about finding accommodation.
Student housing is a key focus of SLURP’s campaigning. We know that many students in Edinburgh face high rents, insecure tenancies, difficult landlord relationships, and uncertainty about what support is available when things go wrong.
Each year, SLURP runs a student housing survey to understand the challenges students face finding and living in accommodation across Edinburgh. The 2024/25 survey focused especially on affordability and housing security.
It collects data on rent, accommodation type, tenancy status and concerns about finding housing, alongside personal testimonies about poor conditions and difficulties in the rental market. The findings support SLURP’s campaigning and help represent students’ experiences.
Alongside our student housing survey, we run workshops and share practical information on topics such as tenants’ rights, emergency housing, and where to get support.
What Our Campaigns Look Like
SLURP campaigns can take lots of different forms, including:
Surveys and Research
Surveys and research into homelessness, housing insecurity and related inequalities, involving more than 1,000 participants.
Awareness campaigns
Collaborating with many different organisations to form campaigns that spread awareness, challenge stigma and bring overlooked issues into focus
Collaborations and community
Partnerships with student societies, charities and community organisations, such as the Edinburgh University Justice for Palestine Society to help raise awareness about many other current issues not only centred on homelessness.
Petitions and advocacy
Petitions, open letters and calls for action directed at institutions and policymakers.
Sharing practical resources and workshops
Working with organisations like Streetworks UK to run workshops that help to raise awareness about both issues associated with homelessness, including Naloxone training.
And much more…
We have collaborated with these organisations…
…and are always looking to work with more organisations and community groups. If you are running a project connected to homelessness, housing insecurity, food poverty, or related issues and would like help raising awareness, please get in touch. We would be happy to share your work with our members and wider student community wherever we can.