Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

Wales needs more affordable housing if it is to eradicate homelessness, says the Archbishop of Wales, who will open the new headquarters of the Wallich charity this week.

Dr Barry Morgan, honorary president of the Wallich, is calling on the Welsh Assembly Government to honour its commitment to better housing set out in its One Wales agenda.

He will be speaking during the charity's AGM after cutting the ribbon to open its new base, a converted Presbyterian church in the Cardiff suburb of Pontcanna.

The Wallich bought and converted the grade two listed building to be used as an administrative base for its projects and training centre. The charity is a leading Welsh provider of frontline services for homeless people, helping an average of 500 people in more than 30 projects in 12 local authorities.

Dr Morgan says, ‘The Wallich is literally a lifeline for those hundreds of people in Wales living on the streets or struggling to keep a roof over their heads. Its new HQ will enable it to expand its work and function more efficiently. It's also good to see that a disused church building has been thoroughly modernised and brought back into use in the community, maintaining, to some extent, the ethos for which it was originally intended.

‘However, there is only so much a charity can do. Homelessness and poor housing is a deep rooted social problem the cause of which has to be properly addressed by the government. There are signs that the new coalition Welsh Assembly Government is taking this challenge on but we need to ensure the issue is kept a priority and housing is made affordable for all.’

Stephen Gamgee, chief executive of the Wallich, says,

‘Not only has our new base given us a better environment in which we can effectively administer the organisation, but it means we can save money in years to come by having our own training facilities and meeting rooms and by saving on rent.

‘We felt it was important to stay in the centre of Cardiff and be part of a local community. We also like the idea that we have helped a much loved building to come back into a use that is sympathetic to its previous life as a place of worship.’

Dr Morgan will open the new HQ of the Wallich, on Cathedral Road, on Thursday, 11 October at 4pm. Also speaking at the event will be the award-winning young author Rachel Trezise. The Rhondda-born writer, who won the Dylan Thomas Prize last year, will talk about her experience of being homeless.

Article from: The Church in Wales