Tŷ Gobaith Lifehouse “changing people’s lives for better”

On Tuesday 21 March, Major Roger Batt and Hugh Carter Service Manager welcomed Mabon ap Gwynfor Member of the Senedd (MS) for Dwyfor Meirionydd to The Salvation Army’s Tŷ Gobaith Life House in Cardiff.

Mabon met with residents who live at Tŷ Gobaith Lifehouse to hear about their experiences of addiction, mental health and homelessness. The residents spoke about their positive experiences living at Tŷ Gobaith, which translates to “House of Hope”, and their time on the Bridge Programme which supports residents with their recovery from addiction.

Mabon Chairs the Cross-Party Group on Housing and also sits on the Local Government and Housing Committee at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay. The Committee recently published a report on ending homelessness in Wales. The report identified that people experiencing homelessness need to have access to appropriate services to empower them to break the cycle of homelessness.

Mabon said “The Salvation Army is a wonderful organisation that often provides life-saving and certainly life-changing services for some of our most vulnerable people.

“Tŷ Gobaith is an excellent example of how they can change people's lives around for the better, and give their residents hope and meaning again.

“What was apparent was that Tŷ Gobaith and the other essential services provided by the Salvation Army is an investment in people, and ultimately saves the state a lot of money by helping people off the streetsand getting lives back on track.

“As politicians, it’s important to ensure that they are funded properly via the Housing Support Grant and other funding streams.

“We can end homelessness by working collaboratively and tapping into the wealth of experience and knowledge of organisations such as the Salvation Army”.

Major Roger Batt, Divisional Leader for the Salvation Army in Wales said “I was privileged to share in a conversation with Mabon and fellow staff who work for The Salvation Army when he visited Tŷ Gobaith our Lifehouse in Cardiff. We witnessed for ourselves the life-transforming work that is carried out there by the staff and organisations who partner with them to make Tŷ Gobaith a Home of Hope for the residents there.”