Pen Yr Enfys

Raising awareness of the homeless

admin — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 12:04:31 +0000

On 4 December, 86 year old Alun Emlyn Jones OBE, spent the night sleeping rough in Cardiff to highlight the plight of homeless people. Alun, who is lifetime president of Pen yr Enfys, slept in freezing conditions to raise awareness and money for Cardiff homeless charity, The Huggard. He was joined by volunteers from a number of groups.

Unfortunately for Alun, something went wrong with the system. Hs sponsorship form arrived late and he was unable to obtain any sponsors. This did not deter Alun, who slept rough on the streets for the 20th time this year. He took part in the sleep out, not for money, but simply to support a worthwhile cause.

Alun said, “At one point when I was sleeping someone touched my elbow and I woke up. I found a pretty young girl in a Christmas hat knelt down beside me and she simply said ‘I think you’re wonderful. So many young people took part in the sleep out this year, which is most encouraging”.

If you would like to make a donation in support of Alun, please make your cheque payable to The Huggard and send it direct to Mr Richard Edwards, The Huggard Centre, Tresillian Way, Cardiff, CF10 5JZ. Or you can make a donation on line.

Peer mentoring to get people back into employment

admin — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:07:56 +0000

A new employment initiative is about to be launched for people whose lives have been affected by problem alcohol and substance use. People who use the services of drug and alcohol support agencies across Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, will be encouraged to take part in a peer mentoring scheme. The aim is to get people back into employment or, at the very least, increase their employment prospects.

The European Social Fund has released £8 million worth of funding which will be rolled out across Wales over the next four years, via the Welsh Assembly Government.

Pen yr Enfys will provide the single point of contact to the service, which can be accessed by contacting Sarah Williams, Manager, Peer Mentoring Scheme at Pen yr Enfy’s Barry office – Tel: 01446 743607.

Steve James, Corporate Director said, “Various activities will be available at several support agencies as well as our own drop in centres based in Cardiff and Barry. Service users will be encouraged to work towards achieving peer mentoring qualifications and voluntary work, to increase their employability, wiith some peer mentor posts leading to full time, paid employment”.