Llandrindod Wells man sleeps on Cardiff streets on Christmas Day for homeless charity

At one point Danny ‘Dig’ Davies said he was “almost at breaking point” as he tried to sleep on the city streets with temperatures dropping to minus four degrees. But he says the experience was a “massive eye opener”.

He added: “It was one night of my life, but it’s every day for them.”

Danny said that homelessness has always been an issue that’s close to his heart, and that he wanted to do something to support the work of Sarah Mason, who is behind the Llandrindod-based charity Help Our Homeless Wales.

He said: “She’s the real unsung hero, people need to realise the work she does. She gives up her time travelling to Cardiff from Mid Wales and feeding up to 100 people.

“Homeless people are just normal people. Anyone is just a pay cheque away from disaster if they haven’t got the people around them to help.”

Danny went down to Cardiff on Christmas Day in the early evening, with a sleeping bag and pillow. His friend Becka Lou Davies joined him; who is also from Llandrindod.

Danny ‘Dig’ Davies prepares to sleep out on the streets of Cardiff on Christmas Day

“What better way to raise awareness of people being homeless than on Christmas Day, when you’re meant to be around loved ones,” Danny said.

He introduced himself to people sleeping on the streets alongside him and explained what he was doing and why. He listened to their stories about how they ended up on the streets, and even shared a few on Facebook Live videos.

He said: “There was a lad who was 34. Two years younger than me. Ten years ago he lost his wife and two kids in a fire. He got into a depression, and addiction. The council chucked him out of where he was living. He was 24 then. That was the most tragic story I heard. How do you recover from something like that without the right people around you?”

Danny says that people like to separate themselves from homeless people and disregard them as drug addicts. He said: “There are a few like that, but that’s their life. We understand it’s just to drown out the pain that they are all going through. Ninety per cent we spoke to, they were all on the housing list and trying their best.

“The situation some of them are in is quite tragic. They have lost parents, lost family, lost loved ones. Some are chucked out, and addiction comes in. It’s a vicious circle. Some of the people I met had been homeless for 15 years.”

The money raised will go to Help Our Homeless Wales, which will use the money for sleep pods: emergency aids for rough sleepers in severe weather conditions. Danny says that they’re not a solution to homelessness, but that they do help to save lives.

The charity said: “A massive thank you to each and every one of you who has helped us raise funds for sleep pods. Four of the team are now booked onto a training day to learn how to build the pods which they will bring back to Wales to teach other organisers and then be able to distribute across Wales to other groups and organisations to help as a temporary measure keeping our guys safe.

“We are forever grateful to all who have helped us and for Danny ‘Dig’ Davies and Boo for the sleep out; who have raised not only more awareness but this amazing opportunity to help prevent more deaths.”

Helping Our Homeless Wales also went down to Cardiff on the Sunday before Christmas, with three hairdressers from different salons in Llandrindod giving out haircuts to homeless people on the street. They were Becky Davies, Gemma Sims and Enita Martin.

To donate to Danny’s fundraiser click here. To see more of the work Help Our Homeless Wales does, visit its Facebook page.