Edinburgh homeless charity gets 'lifesaving' waterproof coats

John Keogh, second left, presents his Ootsider coats to staff at Streetwork on Friday

Fifty all weather coats to be used by homeless people have been bought for a charity by Edinburgh city council

West Lothian’s Ootsider firm said its first partnership with a local authority led to one of its biggest orders so far.

John Keogh, the Broxburn man behind the company, presented staff at the Simon Community which runs Streetwork, with the coats which convert to a sleeping bag.

It comes as the council said the city “is in the grip of a housing emergency.”

The Simon Community is a charity dedicated to helping people to avoid, resolve and recover from homelessness in Edinburgh.

Edinburgh council is the first local authority to partner The Ootsider, a community interest company that has now provided over 250 Sleeping Coats directly to beneficiaries and in partnership with charities.

Based in Livingston, West Lothian, The Ootsider designs and hand-makes outdoor clothing in Scotland, reinvesting all net profits from the sale of its products to make and donate its sleeping coats to vulnerable people sleeping rough on our streets.

Each coat is individually hand-made and has been made to be multi-functional; working as a coat and a sleeping bag with room inside to change clothes and with a detachable foot section that converts into a bag to store the coat, act as a cushion or hold personal items.

The Ootsider was founded by John after he came across a homeless man with a waterlogged sleeping bag, cold and soaked to the skin begging on the street. He gave the man some food and a hot drink. For John it was the start of a journey learning about the life of people living rough on the streets.

This encounter led wild swimmer John to invent The Ootsider, and begin a mission to improve the lives of rough sleepers by providing waterproof, warm, fleece-lined, hard-wearing coats to improve their health, welfare and dignity whilst on the streets.

The Ootsider was created as a Community Interest Company and has the freedom to sell the products it makes and to accept donations. The coats are popular with campers and wild swimmers as dry robes and the multi function garment sells for £149. The company has also developed a winder range of outdoor gear including new styles of coats, coats for children and also hoodies and knitted beanie hats. No one working for The Ootsider is paid a salary.

John said: “Our aim is to make the highest quality clothing that is most appropriate to its intended user, all of our materials are sourced from UK suppliers and our transport costs are low”.

Over the last year, the reputation of The Ootsider has flourished and interest in the company has spread, also thanks to the help of a loyal band of supporters.

The Ootsider has championed fundraising activities, including ‘Sleep-Oots’ where people sleep rough for one night, become involved in educational initiatives and support to events, particularly those involving wild or cold-water swimming.

Commenting at the presentation of the coats on The Ootsider’s social media pages, the council said: “Edinburgh is in the grip of a Housing Emergency. Close to 5,000 households will spend tonight in temporary accommodation. But rough sleeping is reducing.

“Helped by incredible partner agencies, charities, volunteers and local businesses who work together and reach out to those in urgent need.

“One day we hope to end rough sleeping for good. But until then, we’re very grateful to The Ootsider and Simon Community for helping us to distribute these warm waterproof jackets. Doubling up as sleeping bags, we hope these 50 garments will go some way towards making a difference.”

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