

Almost 3,500 children* in Wales will wake up homeless this Christmas
With thousands of people on the brink of poverty and no sign of the cost of living crisis coming to an end, homelessness is a reality that many families are facing this winter. Life waiting for a settled home can be harsh at any time of year, but just imagine what a Christmas in a B&B or a hotel might be like for a child…
- Their room might be cramped, and many children won’t wake up in a bed of their own, and will have shared with siblings or parents.
- In hostels with shared bathrooms and kitchens, as many as ten families will all be trying to get their children showered and give them breakfast in the morning.
- A hotel room is unlikely to have facilities to store or cook food – not even a fridge to keep milk for cereal, let alone a Christmas dinner.
- Noise from other residents will be constant
This will be Christmas for too many children.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
A large amount of our time is spent preventing homelessness from happening in the first place, by giving people the advice and support they need to keep their safe place of refuge – their home. Shelter Cymru helps 18,000 people a year who are either experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Our independent advice, advocacy and support is free and available to anyone in Wales who needs it.
We never give up.
But we’re fighting a housing emergency, and we need your help to be there for people who are impacted by it.
Your donation, no matter the size, means that we can be there for families when they need us most, helping people like Tracy to find a permanent place to call home. Home is everything. Please help us protect it.
From every child with homework, but no home – THANK YOU.
*Based on the most recently released Welsh Government homelessness data at the time of publication.*
Almost 3,500 children* in Wales will wake up homeless this Christmas
With thousands of people on the brink of poverty and no sign of the cost of living crisis coming to an end, homelessness is a reality that many families are facing this winter. Life waiting for a settled home can be harsh at any time of year, but just imagine what a Christmas in a B&B or a hotel might be like for a child…
Their room might be cramped, and many children won’t wake up in a bed of their own, and will have shared with siblings or parents.
- In hostels with shared bathrooms and kitchens, as many as ten families will all be trying to get their children showered and give them breakfast in the morning.
- A hotel room is unlikely to have facilities to store or cook food – not even a fridge to keep milk for cereal, let alone a Christmas dinner.
- Noise from other residents will be constant
This will be Christmas for too many children.

We are stuck in one room and im struggling every day to just keep it together. It’s affecting the kids as they have no space to themselves – no personal space, or space to play. They cant have any friends over. ”
Tracy is a disabled single mum of four children. The family had to leave their home when their landlord decided to sell the property. But like many people, the current price of rent has made finding a permanent, affordable home incredibly difficult. Although they have a temporary place to stay, the accommodation is small and the family have been forced to give up a lot of their possessions due to lack of space. Additionally, two of Tracy’s children have complex needs, making the move even more difficult to cope with. Shelter Cymru has been a lifeline for Tracy’s family and has stood by her giving help, advice and support. Together, we are working to find the forever home that she and her children need. And we wont give up. It doesn’t have to be this way. A large amount of our time is spent preventing homelessness from happening in the first place, by giving people the advice and support they need to keep their safe place of refuge – their home.
It doesn’t have to be this way.
A large amount of our time is spent preventing homelessness from happening in the first place, by giving people the advice and support they need to keep their safe place of refuge – their home. Shelter Cymru helps 18,000 people a year who are either experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Our independent advice, advocacy and support is free and available to anyone in Wales who needs it.
We never give up.
But we’re fighting a housing emergency, and we need your help to be there for people who are impacted by it.
Your donation, no matter the size, means that we can be there for families when they need us most, helping people like Tracy to find a permanent place to call home. Home is everything. Please help us protect it.
From every child with homework, but no home – THANK YOU.
*Based on the most recently released Welsh Government homelessness data at the time of publication.*

FIGHT FOR HOME
We exist to defend the right to a safe home, because home is everything.
The fight to end the housing emergency starts here.
How you fuel the fight for home
We couldn’t do this without you. For every £1 we receive:
93p is spent directly on helping people through advice, support, campaigning and training
7p is spent on fundraising to generate the next £1
To learn more about how we’ve helped, please visit our impact page.
Other ways to support Shelter Cymru
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