- Project focus: Improving access to safe stopping-provision for Gypsy and Traveller communities across Wales, aiming to prevent homelessness before crisis situations happen
- Who it supports: Gypsy and Travellers families
- Location: Wales
Gypsies and Travellers Wales (GT Wales) are a community-led charity with over 40 years of experience supporting Gypsy and Traveller communities across Wales through advice, advocacy, research and policy development.
GT Wales sought funding to deliver the Safe Stopping and Accommodation Pathways Wales pilot, a Wales-wide project designed to improve local authority responses to Gypsy and Traveller accommodation needs and support the implementation of more consistent, practical and lawful stopping arrangements. The project builds directly on recent research undertaken by GT Wales with Gypsy and Traveller communities and local authorities across Wales, which identified significant inconsistencies in how councils respond to unauthorised encampments and a lack of practical implementation of existing duties under the Housing (Wales) Act 2014.
For many Gypsy and Traveller families, homelessness presents differently from the settled population. The shortage of authorised sites and transit provision across Wales often leaves families with nowhere lawful or culturally appropriate to stop. As a result, many move between unauthorised encampments, temporary arrangements with family members or unsuitable accommodation, creating significant housing insecurity and circumstances that are often comparable to homelessness.
The Access to Accommodation project will fund a focused two-year test-and-learn project to support 10 Welsh local authorities to develop clearer, more consistent and practical approaches to Gypsy and Traveller accommodation and stopping provision. By improving local responses and increasing access to lawful stopping and accommodation options, the project aims to prevent homelessness before families reach crisis point.
