A Chester homeless charity dealing with a dramatic rise in the number of women and older people knocking on its door is getting a helping hand from a leading food wholesaler.<\/p>\n
Chester Aid to the Homeless (CATH), which is currently dealing with up to 50 people a week at its drop-in centre on Grosvenor Street, is receiving regular donations of food from Harlech Foodservice which has a base in the city.<\/p>\n
Charity Chief Executive Robert Whittall says the cost of living crisis has seen a big increase in the number of women and older people asking for help along with asylum seekers who have been granted the right to remain.<\/p>\n
He has been with the charity for over 20 years and he said: \u201cWe work with anyone and everyone but the problem is now that we\u2019re inundated.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not just that numbers have gone up but the problems they face have become more complicated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are seeing different people now, a lot more older people and a lot more women as well as people who are working but finding it difficult to survive.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are also more refugees because once they have been granted asylum then all the support they had drops away including their accommodation food.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere have always been a lot of young people on the streets but now there are more older people with more complex health issues because they lead more chaotic lifestyles.<\/p>\n
\u201cLife expectancy for a homeless person is much lower than for the rest of the population and for women it\u2019s lower than for men, half the national average for a woman of 83.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen are more vulnerable and more prone to being exploited but when I first started there were very few homeless women. They were more resourceful than men and would always find a way to keep a roof over their heads.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019re seeing a definite change with more women presenting as homeless \u2013 between ten and 15 per cent now.<\/p>\n
\u201cSociety has changed and issues of drink and drugs have become worse but if you need drink or drugs then what was your issue before that?\u201d<\/p>\n
David Roberts, Harlech Key Account Manager, said: \u201cWe can all see that the issue of rough sleeping has grown worse over recent years and even a city like Chester has a homelessness problem.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a business Harlech like to make a contribution to the areas in which we operate and employ people and Chester where we have a depot, North West England and North East Wales has increased in importance to us.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe work closely with Chester Aid To The Homeless and liaise with them to find out what they need and we then do our best to meet that need whether it is for food or for other items such as toiletries.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a startling fact that someone on the streets has a life expectancy half that of the average so we\u2019re happy to support the fantastic work being done by Chester Aid To The Homeless.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe also supplied the drinks for the team at CATH to treat homeless families to a performance of the panto Cinderella at the Storyhouse Theatre in Chester.\u201d<\/p>\n
CATH was founded in 1972 and has been delivering services to the homeless for over 50 years with its main point of contact at the Harold Tomlins Centre on Grosvenor Street which is open five days a week, nine to 10am including showers and laundry facilities and 11am-1pm for food.<\/p>\n
They work with Soul Kitchen and Share to provide food with Soul Kitchen supplying a Saturday evening meal as well as cooking courses.<\/p>\n
It also provides medical services and food\u00a0 and has accommodation for 31 people at seven sites around the city.<\/p>\n
CATH Service Manager Emily Stephens said: \u201cHarlech e-mail us with what\u2019s available and we tell them what we need and it works very well.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe get people from all walks of life \u2013 at one time we had an aeronautical engineer who had worked on Richard Branson\u2019s hot air balloon flights.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot everyone who comes here is homeless but they do need support. They\u2019re lonely and just need someone to talk to.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harlech Foodservices employs over 200 staff at its three depots near Criccieth, on Sovereign Way, Chester, and in Merthyr Tydfil and runs a fleet of vehicles to deliver up to 5,000 product lines to caf\u00e9s, restaurants, pubs and public sector customers across Wales, Cheshire, Shropshire, the Midlands and the North West.<\/p>\n
For more on Harlech Foodservices go to https:\/\/www.harlech.co.uk\/<\/a><\/p>\n