First Minister tours Cardiff Salvation Army rough sleepers project

Carwyn Jones visited a project in Museum Place run by The Salvation Army to support people who are sleeping rough in Cardiff on Monday night. The First Minister met some of the people that the service supports as well as its staff and volunteers.

The Salvation Army’s Bus Project parks outside the National Museum of Wales in Cathays from Sunday to Thursday every week. The project helps people who are experiencing homelessness by offering them advice, help to find emergency accommodation, warm food and drink and a chat.

The First Minister of Wales said: “To have nowhere safe to call home and to be forced to sleep on the street is a lonely, frightening ordeal, which no one should ever go through.  

“In Wales, we have some of the most progressive homelessness legislation in the world, which has prevented more than 11,500 households from becoming homeless since April 2015. This is good progress – but, even one person forced to sleep on the street is one person too many.  

“I am immensely grateful to The Salvation Army for their tireless efforts, providing help and support, a hot meal drink and a friendly face to people when they need it most.” 

Major David Emery of The Salvation Army said: “It was a pleasure to welcome the First Minister of Wales to see the Bus Project out on the streets of Cardiff and to show him the support the bus provides for people who are experiencing homelessness.

“The Bus Project is just one of the services provided by The Salvation Army to support people who are living on Cardiff’s streets to rebuild their lives. It provides ongoing support for people who have been homeless to help prevent them becoming homeless again and is part of a Salvation Army tradition of going out on to the streets to meet people in need.” 

The Bus Project operates five nights a week, 52 weeks of the year. Each night, the Bus Project provides specialist support to an average of 30 people who are experiencing homelessness and rough sleeping. 

In Cardiff, The Salvation Army’s Homelessness Services Unit runs The Bus Project, the Tŷ Gobaith Lifehouse on Bute Street and the Northlands young person’s Lifehouse on North Road. 

It also operates the Partneriaeth Floating Support prevention service, the Bridge drug and alcohol project, the Compass complex needs unit and Cardiff’s first Housing First project.