Town Centre Hub wins ‘Runner Up’ at Ystadau Cymru Awards

Congratulations to The Hub who were recently announced Runner Up at the Ystadau Cymru Awards 2023; an award which celebrate successful collaborative management across the Welsh public sector.

The Hub is a collaboration of public services from Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council, designed to meet housing needs as early as possible to prevent people from reaching an urgent crisis point.

There are many reasons why people become homeless and often the reasons start long before being in rent arrears or being served with an eviction notice. The Hub works to support people to tackle root causes of the potential risks of homelessness before the point of crisis, working in a creative, holistic, and trauma-informed approach. This has been achieved through the partnership working of two services: Housing & Employability.

Thanks to funding from Central Government’s Shared Prosperity fund, and additional funding through the Welsh Government Housing Support Grant, a new, larger Hub is now located in St Tydfil’s Shopping Centre and welcomes the addition of Social Services and Benefits teams to upskill and empower the community toward independence.

Councillor Michelle Symonds, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Housing and Public Protection, said: “Thanks to the commitment and hard work of the all the staff involved, they have developed a fantastic forward-thinking service to support the community.

“The Hub is now located in the heart of the town centre so we hope this new location will allow more people to conveniently pop in to meet our knowledgeable and friendly staff.

“If you feel that you need support, advice, or guidance, or are simply looking for training opportunities to engage with – please stop by!”