11 February 2020
Shire Hall team get mention at the UN for funds raised for homelessness
The care team at Shire Hall, our care home in Cardiff will have a special mention at the UN building in New York City this month after raising funds for the homeless.
Four team members from our residential, nursing and dementia home will be recognised on a one-off mural that will be on display during a summit with the key theme of affordable housing for all to address homelessness.
They are being recognised for taking part in the global homelessness awareness event the ‘World’s Big Sleep Out,’ which aimed to support homeless people in Wales and in other parts of the world.
Our participating team members Dorin, Alex, Sheila, and Jayne supported this campaign in December by experiencing what it was like to sleep out in the cold and rain inside tents that were set up within Shire Hall’s garden area. Throughout the rough weather in the night, our team managed to complete the event duration which started from 7pm until 6am the following day.
From the event Shire Hall garnered a total of £1,115 in donations which were split between the Institute of Global Homelessness; and our home’s chosen partner charity, the Huggard Centre – a homeless-and-displaced-people’s centre based in Cardiff.
Lifestyle Leader at Shire Hall Care Home, Sheila Charles said: “It is an honour to be included on this mural. Last year, we celebrated our fifth year of supporting the homelessness issue in Cardiff and aside from participating in this globally initiated event, we also continued our annual Christmas tradition of giving out gift bags to the homeless people within our area.
“It was a very humbling experience. There was torrential rain, our pillows and sleeping bags were soaked through and the tent was billowing from the wind. It would have been frightening if we had been alone without the camaraderie of our friends. We went home exhausted but enlightened. If we had to spend another night in the tent, how would we dry everything, how would we stay warm, what would we eat, how could we survive on our own? We were so lucky we had food, drink and dry clothing. It made us appreciate everything we have in our lives and how lucky we are to have the support and love of our family, friends and colleagues.”
The mural will be available to view as part of the UN Summit with the key theme affordable housing and social protection systems for all to address homelessness from 10th to 19th February.
Josh Littlejohn MBE and Dame Louise Casey will be in attendance at the summit to speak of the funds and awareness raised through the ‘World’s Big Sleep Out’ campaign.
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