CATH head of services Graham Taylor

help people reintegrate back into their own community.

“We have up to 60 people every day and it can be a very busy place.

“There are activities such as football, boxing and science groups, and this gives people some form of purpose and helps them to go back out into their community.

“For example, if someone is interested in boxing, the idea would be they would eventually join a mainstream boxing group, and we can help them to do that.

“You can give someone a roof over their head, but you need to help them get unstuck in life and give them the confidence to move forward.”

Graham is also keen to point out many people have a misconception that there are no rough sleepers in Perth and Kinross.

He said: “Our service starts with the outreach service going out to speak to people who are rough sleeping or begging.

“There is a big problem in the city centre with begging.

“But we engage with these people and try to build up a rapport.

“I don’t like it when people say there are no rough sleepers in Perth and Kinross, because there are.

“But although there are homeless people, we don’t have a particularly high number here.

“But we do have a high number of people who sofa surf or sleep in tents and there are a lot of people living in substandard accommodation, so they may have four walls around them but it is not a home.”

Graham is now keen to get more people working with the charity to help support all these people.

Although CATH has a strong workforce, Graham wants to increase the number of people involved in all areas of the charity’s work, including at Tayview House and the day centre, as well as in its floating housing service.

He said: “The organisation is reasonably well known in Perth, but we are struggling to recruit - but this is a problem across social care.

“We are looking for people to work in each of the areas of the charity and we want people who have an interest in working in this sector, or who are interested in social care but want to try something different.

“The biggest thing is it is not about qualifications, it is about commitment to working with these people. People need to be nonjudgemental, caring, empathetic and have a desire to make life for these people better.

“There may be people out there who are keen to change careers and are looking for something else, and this would be a great career for them.

“We have a really good induction programme and ongoing support to help staff through their qualifications and stuff like that.

“We have a really good team here, we just want more good people to come on board.”

Those interested are asked to get in touch with CATH on enquiries@ cath-org or call 01738 580188.

I don’t like it when people say there are no rough sleepers in Perth and Kinross, because there are