Great turnout for PATH’s Stakeholder Engagement Event
PEMBROKESHIRE ACTION FOR THE HOMELESS (PATH) said they were were delighted that nearly 40 attendees joined them on Tuesday (March 19) at The County Hotel in Haverfordwest for their Stakeholder Engagement Event.
The aim of the event, The Herald has been told, was primarily to provide an update on the progress of our UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UK SPF) projects – being delivered by Pathway Counselling and our Numeracy team – but it was also a chance for us to update our partners on other areas of the organisation as well.
The UK SPF projects are being funded by the UK Government’s Multiply initiative, through Pembrokeshire County Council.
Michael Hooper, Managing Director of PATH, opened the event with a summary of the changes which have impacted the organisation since PATH were successful in our bid for nearly £1m of funding from the UK SPF.
This extra funding, which has resulted in rapid growth of the organisation, has allowed us to help more people than ever with over 2,500 people now contacting us every year for help.
However, a growing homelessness problem, the shortage of housing, and uncertain funding for other areas of the organisation due pose challenges for the future.
The future is positive though, as he outlined our plans to be more sustainable, expand strategic partnerships to amplify our impact, empower teams to develop a future focused business plan, and ultimately help more people and prevent homelessness whenever possible. Dean Flood,
Senior Tutor on the Numeracy Project, was joined by Sally Berry, Tutor on the Numeracy Project, to outline how this innovative new service has started months ahead of schedule.
The project is available to anyone aged 19+ and living in Pembrokeshire, with guidelines recently changing to allow even those with a level 2 qualification in maths to participate.
Originally teaching was meant to start in April 2024, however PATH started in January 2024 with two pilot groups at The VC Gallery in
Pembroke Dock and The Mount Community Centre in Milford Haven.
So far PATH has engaged 797 PATH clients, with 68 hours of teaching delivered, with 18 venues identified as suitable locations across Pembrokeshire.
Jonathan Clarke, Senior Coordinator at Pathway Lettings, then updated our partners about the big changes at our social lettings agency in recent months.
Using powerful new software – Alto – PATH says it can now place people into accommodation quicker than ever, and a digital hub where tenants can view their documents and files makes managing a tenancy much simpler.
Pathway Lettings is operating in a difficult market, with inflation and the rising cost of living making it harder than ever to provide affordable housing options. However, PATH are working, they say, with landlords to keep rent as low as possible.
Jonathan also outlined our plans to find more landlords and add new properties to our portfolio, so that PAT can continue to provide affordable options across Pembrokeshire.
Currently, Pathway Lettings manages more than 170 properties.
Julie Ashley-Jones and Helen Hillary provided an update on the huge amount of support that Pathway Counselling has provided with the addition of their UK SPF funding.
The team has seen a huge demand for our free counselling services – available to anyone aged 16+ in Pembrokeshire – and has now grown to 30 counsellors. This comprises of 15 qualified counsellors and 15 trainee counsellors.
At the team’s permanent base at 19 Market St in Haverfordwest, dropin sessions are now taking place on Monday and Thursday every week (12pm – 3pm) and wellbeing workshops are also being held there.
Since September, over 300 referrals for counselling have been received by the team from 30 different sources (crisis teams, social media, partner organisations, etc) with an estimated 1500 hours of counselling delivered.
Several members of the audience were quick to voice their experiences of referring to Pathway Counselling and their positive experiences of rapid support being provided to their clients.