Our History
When was Huggard established?
We were originally called Cardiff Action for the Single Homeless (CASH).
The charity was set up in December, 1988, with the aim of providing a day centre and hostel for people sleeping rough. It took over from Cardiff Cyrenians after it faced financial difficulties. The Cyrenians also ran eight resettlement houses for people “moving-on” from the hostel and a number of them are still owned by the Huggard.
CASH originally operated from temporary, rather primitive, premises, known as “The Cabins” at the top of Bute Street. The first day centre and hostel were built in 1993 thanks to the generosity and forward thinking of local businessman Bob Huggard.
He offered to give £195,000 to build “something decent” to replace “The Cabins” after being approached by the Reverend Douglas Bale, who’d been looking to continue the work of the Cyrenians.
The two men joined forces, but Bob Huggard sadly died in August, 1991, before work started on the Day Centre and Hostel in Hansen Street. His wife, Ethel, who shared his dream, continued to take a keen interest until her death in 2008.
In 2007 CASH changed its name to Huggard in honour of Bob and Ethel Huggard.
In 2012 Huggard opened a new Day Centre and Hostel in Hansen Street – providing the most up-to-date facilities to meet the needs of people sleeping rough on the streets of Cardiff.