February 4, 2021
The South Wales Freemasons have donated £25,000 to Huggard, Wales’ leading centre for people who are sleeping rough in Cardiff. The money will be used to replace the Cardiff based charity’s 15-year-old vehicle.
The Huggard remains open 24/7 and for more than 30 years has given people who are homeless and vulnerable the specialist support they need to rebuild their lives and to have a future again.
The charity has worked with nearly 900 homeless people since the first of the Covid-19 lockdowns in March 2020, and it fully expects this number to continue rising over the next 12 to 18 months as the number of people in the city facing homelessness increases.
The homeless crisis has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic, with many people losing their jobs and finding themselves either living on the streets or in unsuitable living conditions.
According to the latest monthly figures from the Welsh Government, 1,335 people presented as homeless and were placed into emergency accommodation across Wales during October, 2020. That’s an increase of nearly 12% on the previous month.
Richard Edwards, Chief Executive of Huggard, said: “As part of the service that Huggard offers, we transport our clients to appointments they need to attend and, before the Covid-19 restrictions, to organised events. Our clients rely heavily on us for this, as most struggle to use public transport because of the cost. It’s a situation that has worsened during the pandemic. Our current vehicle has certainly seen better days and has needed to be replaced for a while now. Sadly, we just couldn’t afford to do it.”
“We’re very grateful to the South Wales Freemasons for their generous grant. It’ll make a huge difference to us, and more importantly, to the people we support. “
“Our Critical Intervention Centre is not a place where people end up. It’s where their journey starts as our specialist teams work with clients to help them deal with the traumas that led to them becoming homeless or trap them on the streets.”
“A new vehicle will make an enormous difference to us as well as to our services and mean we can offer so much more to clients.”
Gareth Jones, Head of the South Wales Freemasons said: “I’m very pleased we’ve been able to help the Huggard Centre replace its vehicle at the most difficult of times. To be able to offer transportation is essential for the charity to fully support those who find themselves homeless, and this new vehicle will enable the charity to continue to assist those who need it most.”
UPDATE (August 22, 2021)
The Provincial Grand Master, Gareth Jones, and Provincial Charity Steward, Robert Payne, recently visited Huggard Centre to officially hand over a new support vehicle to their Outreach team. The video below explains more:
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Notes to editors
Richard Edwards, Chief Executive of Huggard, is photographed next to the charity’s existing, and rather old vehicle.
Further information
- Freemasons in England and Wales donated £1 million between April and July 2020 to help those impacted by the Covid-19 crisis, and are now focusing on protecting the homeless, with a new series of donations across England and Wales.
- The Huggard grant from the South Wales Freemasons comes through the Masonic Charitable Foundation, which is funded by Freemasons, from across England and Wales.
- Previous press release: Homeless to receive more than £850,000 in donations from Freemasons to help protect them this winter (https://www.southwalesmason.com/homeless-to-receive-more-than-850000-in-donations-from-freemasons-to-help-protect-them-this-winter/)
- Wales Government stats on homelessness https://gov.wales/homelessness-accommodation-provision-and-rough-sleeping-october-2020.
Contact:
For further information about Huggard, please contact Hefina Rendle, hefinarendle@nullgmail.com Telephone: 07860 304782.
For further information about United Grand Lodge of England / Freemasonry, please contact Livia Ferreira, public relations manager, email: lferreira@nullugle.org.uk | Telephone: +44 (0)20 7395 9208 | Mobile: +44 (0)7539 578699
For further information about the Masonic Charitable Foundation, please contact Guy Roberts, Press Officer (groberts@nullmcf.org.uk | 0203 146 3311)
About the South Wales Freemasons
- South Wales Freemasons, or more formally the Provincial Grand Lodge (PGL) of South Wales, was founded in the 1720s.
- Today, the PGL of South Wales has almost 6000 members, based in over 160 lodges within the old counties of Glamorgan, Brecknockshire and Radnorshire.
- PGL of South Wales has 23 masonic centres, where Lodge meetings take place, in the cities of Swansea and Cardiff and also in smaller towns from Barry in the south to Llandridnod Wells in the north.
- PGL of South Wales is one of 47 Provincial Grand Lodges in England and Wales, which are governed by the United Grand Lodge of England (UGLE).
About the United Grand Lodge of England:
- The Premier Grand Lodge, which became the United Grand Lodge of England, was founded at the Goose and Gridiron Pub in London in 1717.
- It has 48 Provinces across the country and more than 7,000 Lodges, with students over the age of 18 able to join one of the 85 University Scheme Lodges.
- Freemasons use four important guiding principles to help define their path through life: integrity, friendship, respect and charity.
- One of the oldest social and charitable organisations in the world, Freemasonry’s roots lie in the traditions of the medieval stonemasons who built our cathedrals and castles.
- Membership is open to people from all backgrounds and the organisation’s aim is to empower members to be the best they can be – it’s about building character, supporting members as individuals and helping them make a positive contribution to society.
- Freemasonry is one of the largest charitable givers in the country, contributing more than £48m to deserving causes in 2018 alone. Freemasons do not only donate money – more than 18.5 million hours of volunteer work were undertaken by Freemasons in 2018.
About the Masonic Charitable Foundation
The Masonic Charitable Foundation (MCF) is one of the largest grant-making charities in the country. Funded entirely through the generosity of Freemasons and their families, the MCF awards millions of pounds each year to local and national charities that help vulnerable people, advance medical research and provide opportunities for young people. The MCF also helps to fund vital services such as hospices and air ambulances and regularly contributes to worldwide appeals for disaster relief. In total, MCF support helps to improve the lives of thousands of people every year in England, Wales and internationally. As well as providing grants to charities, the MCF supports Freemasons and their families with a financial, health or family need. Visit www.mcf.org.uk
About Freemasonry
- Freemasons use four important guiding principles to help define their path through life: integrity, friendship, respect and charity.
- One of the oldest social and charitable organisations in the world, Freemasonry’s roots lie in the traditions of the medieval stonemasons who built our cathedrals and castles.
- Membership is open to people from all backgrounds and the organisation’s aim is to empower members to be the best they can be – it’s about building character, supporting members as individuals and helping them make a positive contribution to society.
- Freemasonry is one of the largest charitable givers in the country, contributing more than £48m to deserving causes in 2018 alone. Freemasons do not only donate money – more than 18.5 million hours of volunteer work was undertaken by Freemasons in 2018.