City’s plan to support homeless
TWO new homeless hostels are set to open in Adamsdown, Cardiff, in a wide shake-up of support for the homeless.
About 140 homeless people are currently staying in two hotels in Cardiff, which put them up over the coronavirus lockdown. But the hotels are now keen to open their doors to the public again.
The OYO hotel on Clare Street, Riverside, will stop letting homeless people stay there in September, and the YHA hostel on East Tyndall Street will close in December. Now, Cardiff council urgently needs somewhere else for the homeless people leaving the hotels to stay.
The council will turn 42 student flats at 118 Newport Road into supported housing; and 74 temporary accommodation flats at Adams Court on Moira Terrace for homeless families into 103 flats for single homeless people needing specialist support. There will also be 16 rooms at Countisbury House, Llanrumney.
A triage centre will open 24 hours a day at Hayes Place, Riverside, offering help from support workers, nurses, probation officers, therapists and counsellors. The council also hopes to recruit an occupational therapist, psychologist and psychiatrist. Emergency accommodation will also be built behind Hayes Place.
But after reports of frequent drug use and violence at the YHA and complaints from neighbours of antisocial behaviour near the OYO, ward councillors and the police have raised concerns about the plans to move homeless people to Adamsdown.
Councillor Lynda Thorne, cabinet member for housing, was quizzed by councillors on the scrutiny committee on Tuesday about the plans to shake up support for the homeless.
During that meeting, Adamsdown councillor Nigel Howells said: “Parts of the proposals aren’t supported by councillors in Adamsdown or Riverside for very good reasons. Indeed, the police have also raised concerns about the proposals for the centre on Newport Road.
“If the price of properties is a consideration, you’re always going to be looking at areas which have the lowest property prices, which are going to be the more deprived areas. Is that really fair?”
Cllr Thorne said: “We have been trying to look for properties, not just in relation to Covid, but prior to this pandemic. It’s been very difficult finding properties, and we have to act quickly as the contracts are ending on the hotels. And they have to be affordable.”
Elsewhere, temporary accommodation for homeless families will be opened with space for: 39 families on North Road in Gabalfa; 19 families on Harrison Avenue in St Mellons; and 50 families at the Gasworks in Grangetown.
Another concern raised was an increase in begging as shops reopen. The council is launching an advertising campaign to encourage people not to give to beggars, although one councillor described it as “rather mean”.
Cllr Thorne said: “We have just launched a scheme called ‘No Change, Real Change.’ That’s being promoted around the city centre and in local shopping areas.
“It’s about people understanding that not everybody begging is actually homeless. We can get much better results by people not giving. If they want to donate, they can give to the For Cardiff scheme or individual hostels.”