The head of one of Cardiff's biggest homelessness centres said the queuing system outside its building has changed amid concerns over violence. A recently published Shelter Cymru report called the system of queuing outside the Huggard centre and Ty Tresillian on Hansen Street "problematic", adding that it presented a barrier to people accessing overnight accommodation and left them feeling exposed.
The report also said that violence around Ty Tresillian is "off-putting for some" and that there is "genuine fear" of being in the area amongst the most vulnerable people. At a Cardiff Council community and adult services scrutiny committee meeting, Huggard chief executive Richard Edwards said queueing has been moved away from Ty Tresillian and that the situation has improved.
He said: "When we moved the out of hours service into the Housing Options building it meant we could make use of a waiting room inside, so that cut down on the vulnerabilities of people having to wait in a dark street often in the cold and wet. So, we have made lots of improvements around that because we were conscious of the fact that queuing up on Hansen Street, queuing up to get into Ty Tresillian wasn't a good environment. That hasn't happened now since last year."
