Shelter Cymru

Last year, we supported 17, 215 people in Wales through our frontline advice and support services. 5,633 of these were children.
Our support is available at no cost to everybody in all 22 local authority areas of Wales, as well as by phone and online – preventing homelessness, helping to secure accommodation and improving housing conditions and affordability.
Last year, 400,000 people accessed our advice online, demonstrating that when it comes to expert housing advice and information in Wales, we are the organisation that people turn to.

“Without the support of Shelter Cymru my family and I would probably have been homeless by now. My caseworker was always helpful, supportive and friendly. Can’t thank him and Shelter Cymru enough.” – Service User

No one should face homelessness alone. When Shelter Cymru was founded, there was little or no specialist housing advice available to people in Wales and the problems of homelessness were largely overlooked or not fully acknowledged. Shelter Cymru has made a huge impact in Wales over the past 39 years, helping almost a million people in need and bringing about policy and legislative changes that have helped countless more. 2020 was a year like no other, and we faced some serious challenges. Our priority for 2022 and beyond is that we can keep going, and be there to support the thousands of people from all over Wales both throughout and beyond this unprecedented crisis.

In the year ahead, our ambition is to make sure that:

- We can help more people through our emergency helpline Shelter Cymru Live
- No-one has to sleep rough in Wales – Shelter Cymru’s dedicated Rough Sleeper Advisors take our help out of the advice centre and onto the streets
- Young people do not face homelessness alone – we work in partnership with other organisations across Wales to get young people the support they need in their local area
- Everyone who needs it can access help to keep their home – our legal representation in possession proceedings is freely available in every County Court in Wales
- Despite ongoing restrictions, people do not have endure intolerable living conditions – be it disrepair or landlord harassment, our specialist Housing Law Caseworkers are there to support people to take action
- The Welsh public have up to date, accurate housing rights information and advice through our Advice Online

If you would like more information about Shelter Cymrus work, please visit sheltercymru.org.uk.