Organised by CEO Sleepout UK, a national charity set up to inspire the business community to unite to do something about homelessness, The Wallich was a charity partner and played a key part in ensuring the event was inclusive to people with lived experience of homelessness.
23 CEOs and business leaders came together to sleep under the stars to raise money and awareness for people experiencing homelessness.
The event, held in the iconic Castell Caerdydd, featured a powerful panel discussion led by The Wallich’s Shadow Board – individuals with lived experience of homelessness that co-produce The Wallich services.
They used the opportunity to ask business leaders to think about whether their hiring practices exclude people who’ve had experience of homelessness, and how to support their staff at risk of losing their home.
The event also included a moving performance by the Choir With No Name – a choir for people with lived experience of homelessness and marginalisation.
Another key component of the event was Dilys, one of The Wallich’s Mobile Operations vehicles.
Jason, The Wallich’s Head of Mobile Operations, gave tours of the exceptional outreach vehicle and highlight its impact on communities across Wales.
From needle exchange services and working in partnership with nurses, to offering a safe space for homelessness advice and support, the vehicle plays a vital role for those with nowhere else to go.
Once discussions and songs we complete, CEOs and business leaders got the chance to network and discuss how they can help make homelessness history in Wales.
After dark, attendees got a unique opportunity to sleep in the grounds of the castle. With the gates closed, the Castle turned to black while the streets outside remained noisy.
Whilst this doesn’t come close to the true experience of people sleeping rough in Wales, attendees got a brief but powerful insight of the impact of sleeping outside at night – unpredictable weather, even on the hottest day in Wales this year so far, continual noise throughout the night and an uncomfortable night with little sleep.
The purpose of this event was not to mimic rough sleeping as a gimmick, but to offer a meaningful perspective to people who often take for granted the comforts of a warm home, a safe and comfortable bed, access to vital services and financial security.
“I’m taking part tonight because I think its really important to highlight the range of different types of homelessness that’s out there – it’s not just rough sleepers that we think about.
Hopefully through my network and being able to use things like LinkedIn to just try and raise awareness and go away and think about it a little bit more.
In Wales, we’ve got a massive problem with homelessness and there are some really frightening stats of the number of people that are homeless.
This isn’t just about people we are seeing rough sleeping on the streets, it’s the families that are moving from hostel to hotel to home because of the unaffordable rents that are out there.
We really need to look at the hidden side of homelessness and see how we can help with that. But also, all the knock-on effects that happen because of homelessness.
People have the inability to be able to get jobs and to be able to hold down jobs. That’s really important.
It’s important to get people out of homelessness but it’s also important to keep people in jobs and in properties and that’s where we’ve all got our part to play.
That’s why I’m very happy to be taking part and raise awareness and also, as a company, look at how we can support The Wallich.”
“We are extremely thankful to the attendees who came together to support The Wallich and helped to raise vital funds for people experiencing homelessness.
Bringing business leaders together is crucial to challenging perceptions of homelessness and sparking meaningful conversations about the role the business community can play in driving long-term change.
Homelessness is not just a housing issue – it’s a systemic issue.
Together, through partnership work, raising awareness and taking action, we can build a Wales where everyone has a safe space to call home.”
Get in touch today – dosomething@thewallich.net