World Homeless Day is coming up on Friday 10 October and our Campaigns team will be taking their roadshow to IKEA Cardiff. Here’s a transcript of the conversation between Liz Day, our Communications Officer, and Matt Palmer, our Policy and Public Affairs Officer, about the roadshows.
Listen to more on our podcast, Fight for Home
Liz: So you’ve recently taken the roadshow to Mold and Wrexham. How did it go?
Matt: It went really well. I think we had two great days. One day at Mold market and then the next day at Tŷ Pawb in Wrexham. So yeah, it’s been two great days on the trot. Two long days, but two great days.
Liz: Did many people come along? Did you have some interesting conversations?
Matt: Yeah, it was really good, actually. Really good. Just chatting to different members of the public and a whole range of conversations as well, because of course, you know, some people know a lot about housing and about the issues that we’re facing in Wales. Other people don’t, and that’s fine. Because that’s the whole point of these roadshows is to have those really interesting conversations.
Liz: Was that mostly with local residents or community groups or politicians? Who came to chat?
Matt: Well, it was a bit of a mixture to be honest, and that’s partly what the roadshows are all about having those conversations. Lots of local residents, obviously people just coming down to enjoy, say Mold market and you know whilst they’re buying their groceries, also pop along for a chat and for us to talk to them about what home means them. But yeah, we did have a few politicians come down. Mark Isherwood, one of the local MSs came to Mold and in Wrexham, we had a conversation with a number of councillors from different political parties. So we, you know, encourage people to come along, those politicians and what we’re going to do more of is hopefully engage those community groups as well. So these roadshows are going to be right around Wales. But yeah, it’s really interesting to get that range of conversations from local people, from community groups and local politicians as well.
Liz: I know you’ve been asking people “what does home mean to you?” Could you talk us through some of the answers you’ve been hearing to that question?
Matt: Yeah. So the one I love is we’ve been doing this little thing where people have been sticking post-it notes on to a board about, you know what home means and someone, a little kid, I wasn’t around for them, but did stick “ice cream”. And what home means to them. It means ice cream!
Liz: That’s a great answer!
Matt: That is a very perfectly valid answer because it will mean different things to different people. A lot of people were saying, like safety, security, you know, it’s foundation that people build their lives on and you know some people who’ve had less, you know, less favourable experiences have said chaos or danger or words like that, but that that’s kind of the point of having these conversations because home does mean something slightly different to everyone, and that depends on everyone’s personal circumstance, and that’s why we want to hear as many different voices as possible.
Liz: When I think of home, I guess I think of being safe, being comfortable, spending time with my partner. What does home mean to you?
Matt: I think home for me definitely means foundation. You know, I grew up in rural North Devon and then moved to Wales. Moved around Wales, Aberystwyth, Cardiff and then got to that stage and I was like time to settle down. Time to build foundations and I had connections with Swansea so that’s why I ended up in Swansea so it’s a coming to a place where I can set down my roots. I can build my life with, you know, my partner and build that together. So yeah, I mean, for me, I think foundation is probably the, if I had to do it in one word, it would probably be foundation.
Liz: For anyone who hasn’t been along yet, when we say roadshow, what do we mean? What can people expect at these events?
Matt: So they will vary, but the basic principle of a roadshow is us getting it out into different communities across Wales. Often they will be in markets or other public places and it will be us with a little stall with some information about us as Shelter Cymru, the charity. But then also asking that question about what home means to them and if you’re really interested. If you’re really knowledgeable, if you really want to find out a lot more about ourselves and about the housing sector, then we’ve also got our manifesto, a sort of reflection of the things we’re asking politicians for to prioritise to fix the housing emergency and what we would suggest. So yeah, there’s a whole range of things to do. It’s all sort of interactive. We are there to have conversations. So yeah, and if you come along, then maybe even one or two sweets may be available at certain locations, but I’m not going to promise!
Liz: And what’s the aim? What are you hoping to achieve by getting out and about like this?
Matt: Well, it is about getting right around Wales to different communities in Wales. One of the unique and I think really fantastic things about Shelter Cymru is our housing services operate in every single part of Wales, every single local authority has our community advice services in them and we want to reflect that in campaigns. We want to reflect that in the conversations that we have and be in every part of Wales and find out the slight nuances because every single town, every single community will have a slightly different story to tell when it comes to home, and every individual will have a slightly different story. So, you know, as many parts of Wales as we can get out to as many different people in those communities as we can talk to that is really what we’re aiming for.
Liz: Why now? Am I right in thinking this is part of Shelter Cymru’s campaign ahead of the Senedd election next May?
Matt: Yes, it is part of our Vote for Home message, really. We feel that this Senedd election coming up for a whole number of reasons is going to be a really interesting set of elections. For one, there’s a new voting system and new constituencies. So there are a lot of interesting conversations to have and above that we do feel that the housing emergency needs to be a priority for the next Welsh Government. There are certain things that we feel that can be done, that should be done, in order to fix it, but it is one thing for us to say that and it’s another thing entirely to understand what people mean when they talk about home and getting those conversations and those experiences from people sort of add to our work and the way I summed it up in Wrexham really is, it’s one thing shouting at, you know, politicians shouting your message from a loud hailer, but what we want is a choir. What we want is that range of voices that we’re all singing together from the same from the same songbook, singing our tune loudly about what home means to people and how we can fight the housing emergency in Wales.
Liz: Could you tell us a bit more about that Senedd election campaign? I know Shelter Cymru launched a manifesto at the Eisteddfod. Could you tell us about that manifesto?
Matt: Well, apart from the fact that it is an absolutely gripping read and you should get yourself a copy..! The main thing I will say, it is up on our website so please do encourage people to get on our website, give it a read. If there’s any, you know, comments or any views or stuff and if people want to have that conversation in more detail, then please do get in touch with us. But we’ve tried to break down the situation we face in Wales into sort of some more specific points. Obviously one of these things with any document like this, they’re always a slightly moving feast. Things will happen in politics, things are sometimes outside of our control, but basically it’s our calls for action for the next Welsh Government post the elections in May.
Read more: A manifesto to rebuild Wales’ broken housing system
Liz: I gather you’re planning to take these roadshows right across Wales, so where are you going next? How are you choosing the locations?
Matt: So how we’re choosing locations is probably the key point, because we are now in the stage of selecting our next set of locations and there is a callout to anyone listening to this if they have a venue in mind, if it’s a public space where we will be able to talk to members of the public. So, for example, markets or community centres, somewhere where people naturally focus in on in communities, there tend to be those focal points that people tend to congregate around. We’re happy to attend those right across Wales. So we’re really open to any and all ideas, really. If people have places that they want to suggest, please do get in touch. But we will basically be looking to get right around Wales, from Pembrokeshire to, you know, we’ve been up to Wrexham. So we need to get up to Ynys Môn, Anglesey, and the northwest of Wales and right down to southeast as well – Newport, Abergavenny, Caerphilly. Wherever we can, you know, wherever’s happy to host us. We’re happy to bring the roadshow.
Liz: Why should people come along and say hello?
Matt: I think really for us to have that conversation for us to find out what home means to them. As I said, we do as Shelter Cymru, a lot of work, our Housing Services teams are fantastic. We do a lot of work in the policy and the research fields as well. But home does mean something different to everyone. And when you come along to the stand, we have an open mind about what type of conversations we will have and we’re looking forward to having those conversations. So yeah, definitely come along to have a chat. Find out more about what we do as Shelter Cymru. Find out more about what we’re asking for the Welsh Government to do in the future, but add your voice to that choir. As I said, we want to build that large choir of voices rather than just a single voice shouting. We want as many different people, as many different viewpoints as possible. There’s no wrong answers when it comes to “what does home mean to you?”
Liz: If people are listening to this, wanting to drop by, how can they find out more details?
Matt: Well, keep an eye out on our social media channels. I’m sure that you can put them in the show notes and our website as well. We will continuously update as and when we firm up and confirm locations. So really keep an eye out on all our channels and I look forward to speaking to you at a roadshow soon.
Liz: Thank you, Matt – really looking forward to seeing you out and about. I hope it goes well.
Matt: Diolch yn fawr, thank you.
1 October 2025
By Liz Day
