From simple faith and active compassion, a single thought has mushroomed into a beacon of hope and fulfilment. This is the inspiring story of the amazing ways in which the lives of people on the streets or in resigned despair have been transformed to energy-filled hope.

The Grassmarket Community Project in Edinburgh has brought new, wonderful horizons to those it helps and those who have worked to build it into an award-winning social enterprise. For all who feel powerless in the face of the social problems of today, this is the uplifting proof that something can be done.

These stories of the gentle empowerment of unseen potential show how it really is possible to climb out of bleakness to break down the faceless barriers of apathy and bureaucracy.

Richard Frazer is minister of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh. He founded and chairs the Grassmarket Community Project, which helps the most vulnerable. He has been influential in the revival of pilgrimage in Scotland and in the Church of Scotland’s decision to officially promote and revive pilgrimage after 450 years.