The number of applications for homelessness status in Scotland is up by 3% on the previous year, with 36,465 people needing help from their local council. Glasgow saw the biggest increase, up 8%; it also accounted for 95% of the cases where a council did not fulfil its legal obligation to offer temporary accommodation to a homeless person. Nearly 3,000 slept rough at least once in the three months prior to seeking council help. Shelter Scotland said the figures exposed the devastating impact Scotland's ‘housing emergency’ has on people's lives. They come from every walk of life, and many want to find work; they are no different from the rest of us. Homelessness begins when something bad happens - relationship breakdown, redundancy, poor mental health, alcohol/substance addiction, domestic abuse. People don’t choose their circumstances.