{"id":79320,"date":"2023-12-05T17:59:50","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T17:59:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/?p=79320"},"modified":"2023-12-05T18:01:31","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T18:01:31","slug":"charity-appeals-for-gifts-for-homeless-and-other-forgotten-women-at-christmas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cardiffjournalism.co.uk\/thecardiffian\/2023\/12\/05\/charity-appeals-for-gifts-for-homeless-and-other-forgotten-women-at-christmas\/","title":{"rendered":"Charity appeals for gifts for homeless and other forgotten women at Christmas"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The season is hard for those without a home, who have little more than the clothes on their back<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

A CARDIFF women’s centre is asking for gifts to bring some Christmas cheer to people finding this time of year particularly difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some women who use the centre are homeless and come in to dry their blankets. \u201cIt’s all they have,\u201d said Catherine Linnie-Godden, activities coordinator at Safer Wales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She has been at the charity for three years and has noticed an increase in not just numbers, but also the needs of the women through the cost-of-living crisis. Around 500 women used their services between July and September this year. In the same period in 2022 the figure was about 200.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Visitors to the centre include victims of domestic violence and sexual exploitation and women who have been released from prison, or are otherwise invisible to society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Cardiff is having a housing crisis at the minute. So many of our women cannot get accommodation and a lot who do can only stay there for a few hours at a time, and are not allowed to stay during the day,” said Ms Linnie-Godden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The women\u2019s centre is a safe space where they can go to relax and engage in activities like painting and cooking. There are also washrooms available stocked with donated toiletries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Along with essential toiletries, the charity is asking people to donate puzzle books, fuzzy socks, and sweets so they can give them out as gifts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember a woman who hadn\u2019t had a Christmas present in over 10 years,\u201d Ms Linnie-Godden told The Cardiffian.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEven just fuzzy socks, they might not mean much to me and you but they mean the world to our women.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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