Bedrock is Rock Trust’s supported accommodation service for young people aged 16 to 25 in Edinburgh who are homeless or leaving care. We’ve been running Bedrock since 1991, in partnership with the City of Edinburgh Council, and it remains one of the longest-established services of its kind in Scotland.
Bedrock gives young people a safe, high-quality home of their own – but it’s not just a roof over someone’s head. Alongside the accommodation, we offer one-to-one, person-centred support from a dedicated support worker, allowing our young tenant to build the skills and confidence to live independently.
What is supported accommodation?
Supported accommodation combines a genuine home of your own with practical, ongoing support from a trained worker. It’s different from emergency or temporary accommodation: rather than being a short-term stopgap, it’s a stable place to live while you build towards a permanent home of your own.
For many young people, having a flat isn’t enough on its own. Nearly half of all homeless young people have at least one identified support need, with mental health the most common. Without the right support in place, tenancies are more likely to break down – which is difficult for everyone, including landlords. With that support, young people learn the skills and build the confidence to sustain a tenancy long-term.
That’s what supported accommodation through Bedrock provides: a home, the support that makes it sustainable and the tools to build a brighter future.
Who is Bedrock for?
Bedrock is for young people aged 16 to 25 in Edinburgh who are either leaving care or have been assessed as homeless by the City of Edinburgh Council. Most young people are referred to Bedrock through the council’s homelessness or care leaver pathways.
We also provide accommodation for young parents, with person-centred support to ensure the young person has a safe, stable and private home to stay with their child.
If you’re not sure whether you’re eligible, or you don’t know where to start, get in touch with our team and we’ll point you in the right direction. You can also read more about your housing rights and emergency accommodation if you’re not sure what your options are.
If you are a young person and you’re at risk of homelessness, the first thing you should do is make a homelessness application. You can find the contact details and out of hours numbers for all local authority housing teams on our Get Help page.
Rock Trust adds to Bedrock housing stock
Rock Trust is adding a total of five new properties to its portfolio of supported accommodation.
What Bedrock provides
Your own home
Bedrock primarily provides high-quality, one-bedroom flats – not shared accommodation or hostel-style rooms. Young people typically stay for around two years, though this can be extended until a permanent home is found.
Shared accommodation
The service also has a limited number of two- and four-bedroom properties, which comprise some of the service’s shared accommodation offer, where a volunteer flatmate lives with the young person to provide additional support. Find out more about My Place, our volunteer shared flatmate programme.
A dedicated Project Worker
Every young person is supported by a trained Project Worker who provides one-to-one outreach support and works with them to build a person-centred support plan. This might focus on independent living skills, accessing employment, education or training, or emotional and wellbeing support. We’ll aim to provide whatever matters most to that individual.
24/7 support
Alongside scheduled support meetings, Bedrock provides a 24-hour telephone helpline for young people outside normal office hours, so help is there when it’s needed.
Practical, everyday skills
Support covers the real, practical realities of living independently: budgeting, managing bills, understanding benefits, and looking after a home, as well as help accessing education, employment or training.
Property support
Rock Trust’s Property Team works alongside Bedrock’s support staff to manage property maintenance, repairs, health and safety, and neighbour liaison to ensure young people have a genuinely well-maintained home, not just a roof over their heads.
Bedrock is registered with the Care Inspectorate as a Housing Support Provider, and was rated Very Good across all inspected areas in our most recent inspection.
Bedrock Impact & Successes
In 2025/26, our Bedrock supported accommodation service in Edinburgh supported 46 young people, with an average age of 19 years old.
A total of 17 young people left the service, staying in one of our properties on average for 2 years 2 months before they left – with one young person staying for 4 years 8 months.
Of the 17 leavers,15 left positively:
- 10 young people left to their own tenancy
- 4 returned to family and friends
- 1 to university
- 1 asked to leave
- 1 abandoned
What happens when someone leaves our supported accommodation?
The goal of Bedrock is always a sustainable, permanent home. Most young people who leave Bedrock do so positively – moving into their own tenancy, returning to family, or progressing into further education.
This year, 88% of young people who left Bedrock did so positively. Of those who moved on, the majority went on to their own tenancy, with others returning to family and friends or moving into further education.
82%
of young people improved life skills
65%
of young people went into employment, education or training
835
the number of in-person support meetings we offered young people in our service
Why supported accommodation matters
Last year, over 9,000 young people in Scotland made a homelessness application to their local authority. Of those, just 159 went on to move into a private tenancy. That works out at around 1 in 56 young people. Referencing requirements, deposit demands, and the expectation of a tenancy history all assume a version of adulthood that young homeless people simply haven’t had the chance to build yet.
That’s the gap Bedrock exists to close. By combining a genuine home with the right support, young people get the chance to build the foundations – the skills, the confidence, the track record – that make a sustainable, independent future possible.
Do you need housing support?
We help young people avoid and move on from homelessness so you can have the future you deserve.
More from Rock Trust
Frequently Asked Questions
Supported accommodation combines a home of your own with ongoing, practical support from a trained worker. It’s designed for people who need more than just somewhere to live. It helps you build the skills and confidence to sustain a tenancy long-term, rather than simply providing short-term shelter.
Temporary accommodation is generally a short-term placement while a council assesses or resolves a homelessness case. Supported accommodation, like Bedrock, is a more stable, longer-term arrangement that combines housing with dedicated one-to-one support, usually lasting around two years.
Bedrock supports young people aged 16 to 25 in Edinburgh who are leaving care or have been assessed as homeless by the City of Edinburgh Council. Referrals are usually made through the council.
Young people typically stay at Bedrock for around two years, though this can be extended until a permanent home is found.
No. Bedrock provides individual, one-bedroom flats rather than shared or hostel-style accommodation, alongside dedicated one-to-one support from a Project Worker.