CATH a local charity supporting those who are homeless or under threat of homelessness emerged onto the scene in 1991 during a particularly severe winter when a number of church parishioners became concerned about the plight of rough sleepers in Perth.
The original support was provided with the introduction of a soup kitchen run by volunteers in St Mathews Church and subsequently in a number of different locations until the Day Centre opened its doors on the Ladeside in 1995 with our first paid member of staff providing a more comprehensive range of support.
We added hostel accommodation in 1998 in various locations but since 2002 have operated a 16 bed hostel located at 47 York Place Perth. The hostel caters for males and females over the age of 16 years with trained development staff offering support in house and signposting to other agencies where appropriate.
To ensure that we could offer all round support CATH recognised the need for crisis intervention and in 1998 formed an Outreach team who conduct street walks covering the Perth and Kinross area to pick up on those who might otherwise fall through the net and remain at risk.
To support those already in their own accommodation CATH introduced a Floating Support service in 2001. A team of development workers travel throughout the Perth and Kinross area supporting people within their own tenancies to avoid tenancy failure.
2010 saw the opening of our charity shop in Perth’s High Street, now a well-established project which continues to meet its original aims raising the profile of homelessness, offering volunteering opportunities to the general public and our service users. Any money raised through the charity shop is used to support our charitable aims.
In 2013 we launched a Befriending service for men and women experiencing social isolation, the volunteer befrienders encourage people to become more involved with their local community.
We closed CATH House in December 2017 and relocated to Tayview House on the Shore Road. Here we eight rooms with facilities to encourage independent living.
CATH recognises the valuable contribution that volunteers have made to the organisation over the years and they continue to be involved in all areas of our service provision.
Partnership working has been embraced by CATH and provides opportunities to share expertise and best practice, over the years we have been successfully involved in partnership projects with organisations such as Scottish Churches Housing Action, Criminal Justice Authority, Tayside Council on Alcohol, Perth and Kinross Council and Starter Packs.
