Welsh homelessness charity marks 40th anniversary with biggest impact ever

Stephen Price

More than 22,000 young people, women and children received support from Welsh homelessness prevention charity Llamau during the last year, according to its latest impact figures released today, as homelessness and domestic abuse pressures continue across Wales.

The Charity has now warned that demand remains high as thousands of young people, women and children turn to its services for safety, housing and support.

The Charity says the figures reveal both the scale of need facing vulnerable people across Wales and the life-changing difference early intervention and specialist support can make.

Of the 22,000 supported during 2025-26, Llamau supported more than 15,600 women, children, young people and families through its domestic abuse services. Nearly 4,500 young people through its Early Intervention & Prevention, Safe Home and Move On services. Some 2,600 children through Upstream Cymru, Llamau’s pioneering early identification and prevention of homelessness programme.

In addition, over 1,000 young people benefitted from Llamau’s floating support services and in excess of 600 young people at risk of homelessness were able to access supported accommodation across Wales.

Across its six education centres, Education at Llamau delivered its training and employment programme to more than 200 young people.

From the people Llamau engaged with 97% of reported they felt safer following support from Llamau, 96% reported an improved quality of life and 95% said Llamau had a positive impact on their lives.

Llamau believes it’s important to remember these are more than statistics, instead they represent thousands of individual stories of young people escaping homelessness, families rebuilding their lives after domestic abuse and children receiving support before reaching crisis point.

Sam Austin, Llamau Chief Executive, explains: “These figures tell two stories. Firstly, they show the heartbreaking scale of the challenges facing thousands of people across Wales. Secondly, they show what is possible when the right support is available at the right time.

“Behind every number is a person who needed somewhere safe to stay, women and children who have been affected by domestic abuse, and young people who have faced or encountered homelessness and the uncertainty that comes with it.

“We know that early intervention works, it allows effective support to be put in place before an individual reaches crisis point. This gives us the opportunity to help them stay safe, remain connected with/or reengaged with education and/or employment, and to build brighter futures.

“While we are proud to have supported more than 22,000 people in the past year, our ambition is a Wales where far fewer people need our help because homelessness has been brought to an end by the effective introduction of preventative measures that target the key causes of homelessness in the first place.”

Austin told Nation Cymru: “It is a privilege to mark Llamau’s 40th Anniversary at the Senedd, bringing together politicians, partners, supporters and stakeholders who share our commitment to creating a Wales where homelessness has been ended.

“Llamau welcomes the Welsh Government’s focus on early intervention and prevention. It is the right ambition and one that has the potential to transform lives. However, to make that vision a reality we must work together to ensure that homelessness support services have the resources they need to respond with effective early interventions for people experiencing crisis.

“Every day, Llamau colleagues and partners across sectors help prevent homelessness, support recovery and, yes, they often do save lives as a result. Demand for these services continues to grow, and with the right investment we know it is perfectly feasible to prevent problems escalating. Not only does this offer immense, life transforming benefits for the person who has been supported, it also eliminates the need for more costly, complex and invariably less satisfactory ongoing interventions.

“As the Welsh Government prepares its forthcoming budget, we hope to see continued and increased commitment to a ring-fenced Housing Support Grant. By investing in both prevention and crisis services, we can work together to ensure that everyone who needs support receives the right help at the right time, creating stronger communities and better outcomes for people across Wales.”

As Llamau enters its 41st year, the charity has said it is more determined than ever to develop and strengthen its provision of early intervention support services that have over the last four decades help to improve the lives of over 180,000 across Wales.

---

Get more trusted Welsh news

Choose Nation.Cymru as a preferred source in Google News to see more of our journalism.