A chance for Edinburgh’s homeless to work in tourism is changing lives.
I’m standing next to the 17th-century landmark West Bow Well near one of Edinburgh’s most notorious streets, Grassmarket in the city’s Old Town, when my tour guide, Dakota Jones, blurts out: “This is definitely not a Harry Potter tour.”
I’m on a walking tour run by Invisible Cities, a social enterprise that aims to show cities in a new light and also be a light for the disadvantaged. The organisation trains people affected by homelessness to become walking tour guides, leading visitors through the streets where they once slept. It was founded in Edinburgh in 2016 by Invisible Cities chief executive Zakia Moulaoui and has expanded across five other British cities.
We dodge tourists along the Royal Mile and disappear down Edinburgh’s many narrow laneways. The vibe gets brighter as we stroll Victoria Street, one of the city’s most appealing streets for colourful heritage buildings.
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