Helping homeless people gain new skills and experiences   

A group of homeless people have been learning new skills and gaining experience at a building site in Newport.   

Eden Gate, a Newport-based charity that supports people experiencing homelessness, teamed up with Linc Cymru, a housing association and care provider.   

The LCB Group is carrying out a regeneration project in Constables Close in Pillgwenlly for Linc.  Four houses and seven flats are being built that will overlook a new large open space in to make people feel safer. 

The contractor offered work experience visits to the charity and so far, 294 hours of placements have been taken up.    

Fran Richley, operations manager at Eden Gate, said: “Our service users, or guests as we prefer to call them, are often some of the most marginalized in society. We’re working hard to develop an innovative programme that helps them move from a place of dependency to sustainable independence. 

“The opportunity to work with Linc Cymru and develop our guests soft and employability skills is amazing. They have enjoyed being able to spend time doing something so beneficial and leave the site knowing that they have made a difference.   

“Within the group, we are seeing stronger friendship bonds being formed while they learn the discipline of working, following instructions and achieving goals.  Our hope is that even more guests will chose to participate in, and benefit from, the programme.”    

Shelly Leonard, Linc’s social value officer, said: “This is a fantastic example of the extra community benefits we bring to every area where we are doing work. It’s given them such valuable experience of teamwork and the power of a ‘can-do’ attitude.”       

The regeneration project is being carried out thanks to funding support from Welsh Government’s Social Housing Grant Programme.