Working together to end homelessness: St Petrocs receives donations from CCF and Lillicrap Chilcott

Representatives from Lillicrap Chilcott, Cornwall Community Foundation (CCF) and the Cornwall Chamber of Commerce visited St Petrocs’ resource centre in Truro this week to hear how the charity is working to end homelessness, supported by generous donations.

Ian Lillicrap Chairman of Lillicrap Chilcott Estate Agents donated £10,000; £5,000 was awarded to St Petroc’s to be used for emergency beds. His generous donation also supported a wide range of projects from the Foundation’s Cost of Living Crisis Fund, including Newquay Foodbank, Transformation CPR, TRELYA and Whole Again Communities CIC in Penzance.

CCF Chair of Trustees and CEO of Cornwall Chamber of Commerce Kim Conchie and CCF CEO Tamas Haydu joined Ian Lillicrap and Iain Inchley St Petrocs’ Service Manager for a tour of the charity’s resource centre. Many people who find themselves homeless or at risk of homelessness are not entitled to any support from the state. That is where St Petrocs steps in to offer support and advice.

Iain Inchley explained: “People often come to us in a crisis and we welcome them and help settle them. We are here to help people take the next steps back to independence. We have emergency supplies, a charging point for people’s phones, they can store bags here temporarily, they can shower and change here and get bedding aswell as food. People can also access a specialist GP at St Petrocs which is delivered by NHS Health for Homeless in a special treatment room.

“We find that people are incredibly resilient and believe that we need to keep working together to invest in people to overcome the chronic demand we have due to the pressures pushing people into homelessness here in Cornwall. We welcome donations to the charity especially underwear, socks, boxer shorts, tinned food. We have houses across Cornwall from Liskeard to Camborne which accommodate people who have been pushed into homelessness and help them gain independence, but we desperately need to find suitable accommodation in the Penzance area to help support people in the area who understandably want to stay close to home.”

Ian Lillicrap, Chairman of Lillicrap Chilcott Estate Agents says: “It is one thing to struggle to save the deposit for a first time purchase, it’s a completely different thing to spend a Cornish winter outside by day and by night. What St Petrocs does is eye opening, so vital, and utterly invaluable to the probably 500 homeless people across Cornwall.  To be able to provide such a very broad array of basic facilities and services to people experiencing homelessness, which most of us take for granted is a godsend, and one can have the greatest admiration for the overt enthusiasm and dedication of the St Petrocs team. Washing, clothing supplies, safe keeping of belongings, showers, hot food, and a GP facility all on a drop-in basis and temporary to medium term accommodation in 20 to 30 properties in mid and east Cornwall without which people who are homeless in Cornwall would surely be at a total loss.

To say I am pleased Lillicrap Chilcott’s £10,000 annual donation to the Cornwall Community Foundation goes to St Petrocs and other vital projects is an understatement, and I hope that other businesses in Cornwall might consider contributing to the Cornwall Community Foundation if at all possible”.

Tamas Haydu, CEO of Cornwall Community Foundation added: “We would like to thank Ian from Lillicrap Chilcott for his generous donation and St Petrocs for their continued hard work towards ending homelessness in Cornwall. We have a long relationship with St Petrocs and over the years have given 73 grants of varied amounts to the charity. Every donation from generous benefactors is greatly appreciated.”