Homelessness being tackled by charities during Sheffield Cathedral’s Christmas Tree Festival

Several local charities have decided to raise awareness towards homelessness by participating in a Christmas Tree Festival hosted by Sheffield Cathedral.

The festival, which will run until January 2, is now underway for its third iteration after starting in 2020 during the Christmas Covid-19 lockdown.

Ben Rossi, development manager at Sheffield Cathedral, said: “It’s a way for the community to come together and for our participants to raise their profile and awareness within the community.”

The festival is playing host to 40 trees which have been decorated by various charities, businesses and community organisations.

NOMAD Opening Doors is one of the participants. The housing charity is focused on providing long-term and secure homes for people on the verge of becoming homeless.

Laura Patchett, the charity’s fundraising and communications coordinator, said all the money donated to NOMAD will be used to pay rent, bedding, emergency food parcels and mental health support.

She said: “Most of our clients have mental health issues and need immediate support in a way the NHS is too overwhelmed to provide.

“We’re trying to catch people before they’re forced to sleep on the streets.”

Hidden homelessness is also a priority for the 186th Sheffield Scout Group which has decorated a tree in an attempt to raise money for the Archer project, the cathedral’s transition programme helping people to get their life back on track.

Craig Judson, a scout leader, is afraid the cost-of-living crisis will make it much more difficult for young people to afford housing in Sheffield.

He said: “We want to fight the stigma that people are homeless on purpose, or that it’s their fault because of drugs or alcohol.

“Sometimes only one thing goes wrong and it has a knock-on effect.

“A lot of people are only one paycheck away, anybody could be homeless.”

Online article URL:  https://sheffieldwire.co.uk/index.php/2022/12/09/homelessness-being-tackled-by-charities-during-sheffield-cathedrals-christmas-tree-festival/