Perth-based homeless charity CATH has put a call out for volunteers and for people to step up and become a trustee.
CATH (Churches Action for the Homeless) works with people to alleviate or prevent homelessness in the Perth and Kinross area.
Coming out of the pandemic, the organisation is looking to strengthen its board of trustees to help take the organisation forward and adjust to what will be the new ‘normal’ in terms of service delivery to those in need.
CATH is a major provider of support in the city and across the county, providing a range of services.
When other charities were forced to give up face-to-face meetings, the CATH team continued with its outreach, crisis housing support and importantly continued to provide meals, just with reduced numbers and switching from sit-down lunches at the Ladeside (CATH) Day Centre to takeaway service.
During the pandemic, the day centre continued to offer benefit support signposting, showers and clothes washing.
In the CATH accommodation unit at Tayview House, residents formed social bubbles and worked hard to coexist. It was tough for everyone to go without visitors for many months.
CEO Richard Howat talked to the Perthshire Advertiser, explaining that CATH staff did an incredible job of helping those without a stable home to achieve positive outcomes at the most difficult of times.
“Biased as my opinion may be, I believe that your readers would be surprised by the work of this local charity and the outcomes achieved in the communities around them.
“I have only been in my position for four months but I am so impressed with the guys on the ground.
“I can see with the service delivery and operation, a remarkable job has been done.
“I want to highlight the success of CATH but also to encourage the recruitment of new volunteers and some new trustees.
“We are looking for four trustees to join our board.
“Coming out of COVID, we recognise these are now times of transformation in our service.
“Nobody knows what ‘normal’ will look like.
“As an organisation we are changing how we deliver services.
“We need to ensure that what we do remains relevant.
“Right now, we’d really welcome new people to strengthen our board and help us transform in a positive way.
“Our problem now, coming out of the pandemic, is we lack the capacity in the organisation to do the ‘extra’ things. It is hard delivering the day-to-day services.
“Like everyone else, the pandemic has added to the challenges of running a charity. Gaining people’s time and lost opportunities for fundraising has been particularly difficult.
“The knock-on of COVID is we have lost a lot of our volunteers for the CATH shop on the High Street.
“Perhaps reading this, Perthshire Advertiser readers might like to offer us their time?”
Mr Howat moved on to the need to gain greater awareness for CATH: “I was on a bus recently and I saw a poster for a homeless charity, which I know is based in Edinburgh, advertising for donations on a bus that takes a route through Perth.
“It made me think, we should say more to the public about what CATH is doing.
“We are Perth-based and money goes just to run services helping prevent homelessness inside Perthshire.
“CATH perhaps does not promote itself, we don’t go selling what we do, but that is because, historically, we have run the charity in a very ‘lean’ way out of necessity.”
Anyone who potentially could become a trustee should get in contact via email on chair@cath-org.co.uk
And for other potential volunteers, contact k.litzbarski@cath-org.co.uk
