It’s that time of year again when friends and staff of North Wales Housing visit the Abersoch festival site of Wakestock to collect a haul of abandoned camping equipment that will be redistributed to rough sleepers during the winter months.
For the fourth year running, the team managed to gather 69 tents, 48 sleeping bags, 45 roll mats, 15 air beds, 22 camping chairs, 10 pairs of wellies plus cool bags, ground sheets, blankets, inflatable pillows, picnic mats, tent pegs and trainers!!
A mix of homeless service users, staff and friends of St Marys and North Wales Housing joined in to bring home the goods, which will provide a lifeline for many rough sleepers in North Wales later on in the year.
The annual collection continues to fill a significant gap in NWH’s Supported Housing budget, enabling the association to provide essential winter packs that are distributed at the gates of the Bangor-based hostel.
Kerry Jones of North Wales Housing said:
“The Wakestock event is a brilliant opportunity for us to collect unwanted, quality camping equipment that’s largely been used for that one event. We take our haul back to the hostel, clean it down and redistribute it in the Winter when rough sleepers, unable to find a bed for the night, are in need of extra support and shelter.”
A typical winter pack is made up of a tent, sleeping bag, blanket, cooling equipment and tinned food stuff. The packs are largely distributed at the gates of St Mary’s hostel in Bangor as the cold weather sets in.
She added:
“We’d like to once again thank the organisers of Wakestock for facilitating the day and allowing us on site. Their left over waste is once again going to a great place!”
“We are however still missing some basic essentials and are in real need of tracksuit tops and bottoms, trainers and boots, socks and underwear, mostly for men. If anyone has any unwanted items that they are able to donate, please call in to St Mary’s homeless hostel in Bangor where we’d be glad to accept any donations.”
