Campaigners raise £33,000 to save Cardiff homeless shelter

The shelter in Riverside has opened all year round since 1999

An under-threat shelter for homeless people in Cardiff has been saved after a campaign raised more than £33,000.

The Wallich said in December that due to a loss in Welsh government funding, its 12-bed night shelter in Riverside was in danger of closing.

But following a campaign, more than £21,000 was raised on a crowd funding website and a further £12,500 has been donated offline.

The charity's Jan Balsdon said: "We're ecstatic we can keep the shelter open."

She added: "It means we can support vulnerable homeless people in more stable accommodation for the next 12 months."

Emergency beds

The shelter provides emergency beds, hot food, showers and support.

However, it is due to lose its £62,000 Welsh government funding at the end of March 2015.

The funding will come to an end as part of an expected 10.2% budget cut for the Supporting People Programme Grant (SPPG) in 2015/16, which funds such services.

The SPPG is provided by the Welsh government and administered by Cardiff council.