A groundbreaking app, developed by Homeless Pembrokeshire/ Carmarthenshire, provides vital resources and networking opportunities to address homelessness in the region.

For some time now Homeless Pembrokeshire/ Carmarthenshire has been working on this special project, quietly and diligently. Imagine this: a service that is available to everyone, any time of the day, always active and with a single purpose, to help people who may need help with homelessness.

The app has been designed specifically with three groups of people in mind:

  1. people who are homeless or are about to be;
  2. concerned others - family, friends or members of the public who want to help;
  3. support workers and volunteers with organisations who want to help.

“We started to think about each of these groups, and what could we do to assist them in a coherent and joined up way,” says Amanda Evans. “Obviously this is a big question, and it’s complicated. What we came up with was an App and we call it Homeless LocalLink.”

For all three groups, Homeless LocalLink can help by:

  • showing organisations which can help, how to reach them and what they can do;
  • showing properties or rooms available to rent;
  • sharing tips and tricks on how to survive on the street.

For people who are concerned about someone who is homeless, Homeless LocalLink also offers the facility to tell Homeless Pembrokeshire / Carmarthenshire about their concerns, directly to the app.

And for support workers, volunteers or managers working for organisations, Homeless LocalLink provides the option to become a registered user, with backend access; edit and manage the information about your organisation. It also enables them to see other professionals, get in touch easily and network with partner organisations.

Amanda continues: “We didn’t want our app to just be a directory of services; we wanted more from it than that. We wanted users of the app to engage with it, and be part of it. As well as delivering information on services we have survival tips and tricks for people who need them, or just have an interest.

“We have developed into the app, mechanisms for people to contribute to it and help it grow. We have a registered user backend, and we are inviting support workers, managers from the many organisations listed in the app, to create a user account.

“From there they can edit and manage their organisations details and most importantly, see their counterparts in other organisations and network up with them. Registered users can also contribute to the "Infobase" of survival tips.

“Finally, we are hoping to offer a service for anyone with a room to rent. As long as they are registered and have the relevant licences from Rent Smart Wales, we can list rooms for rent free of charge within the app, all we ask is for a small voluntary donation, but it’s not required. We are also working on giving advice with Rent Smart Wales registrations as much as we are able too.”

The Homeless LocalLink app covers both Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire. It does not track you in any way and cannot access your phone.

For Pembrokeshire, the app currently provides a portal to 11 organisations concerned with homelessness; 18 that help with mental health issues, six that provide addiction support, three for health, four for transport, four that can help in instances of domestic abuse, five links to food banks and meal provision, five places for housing help, plus 19 more - 72 in all.

The InfoBase section currently includes more than 30 articles giving tips and advice on subjects like community fridges and obtaining a foodbank referral; survival for homeless rough sleepers, how to dry your tent, charging mobile devices and using a camping stove; finding accommodation for care leavers, prison leavers, squatting and the law, and advice on renting a room in your home.

When people are homeless, conducting official business and getting things sorted out become more complicated, so as well as health advice on subjects including managing type 2 diabetes for people who are street homeless, podiatry (foot care) and period dignity, there are also tips on on registering as homeless in Pembrokeshire, registering with a GP, obtaining a birth certificate and opening a bank account without proof of address.

Homeless LocalLink was developed in house by Homeless Pembrokeshire/ Carmarthenshire and did not cost the charity a penny to build. The technical stuff was down to William (Volunteer Admin Manager) and Amanda entered all the data.

“It was a mammoth task,” adds Amanda, “and work on it is ongoing; we are finding new info to enter all the time. We want the app to be a one stop shop for people who need our services directly, concerned citizens and organisational professionals.”

“So far response to the app has been amazing, it has only been available for a couple of weeks, and we are already seeing organisations request access. Our supporters and followers on Facebook have been enormously supportive and our pre-launch post received around 5,000 views across the two counties we operate in.”

To get Homeless LocalLink, visit https://homelesspembrokeshir-m9b2.glide.page and follow these instructions:

If an ‘Install’ button doesn’t appear automatically, go to the settings menu in Chrome (three vertical dots), and there in the menu towards the bottom it should say ‘Install app’ or ‘Add to home screen’.

On an iPhone (iOS), go to the URL of the app, then tap the Share symbol (square with arrow going up) and there you should also see “Install app” or “Add to home screen”.