Cathy Never Came Home

We advocate to “Re-think Homelessness”. This is as some traditional forms of services for rough sleepers are often ineffective in sustainably solving precarious living. Whilst they may ameliorate the worst manifestations, such as hunger and cold, they far less frequently offer long-term permanent solutions to homelessness. For instance, tissues with temporary accommodation in Cardiff are well documented, meaning those living there as still on the spectrum of homelessness. Such hostels tend to be insecure and unhygienic, whilst theft, violence are commonplace. Ironically,these can entrap residents into cycles of dependence, poverty and substance abuse. For these reasons, many of our clients claim that it is “better on the streets”. With almost six decades since Ken Loach’s seminal docudrama “Cathy Come Home”,, which prompted a surge in NGOs pledging to end homelessness, these promises remain largely unfulfilled. Rough sleeping is worse than ever. We thus need to re-evaluate the strategies, techniques and approaches employed to truly bring this injustice to a swift end.

Our Modus Operandi

Our fundamental objective is to end precarious living for each and every client we support. The pathways to achieving this vary considerably, but often are with a combination of mental health treatment, benefit increases or the provision of proper accommodation.This primary directive will be achieved with tenacity, compassion and holistically tailoring support to clients. This foundation is supported by five pillars:.

The Five Pillars

From its inception, we wanted to establish Dim Yma as a non-judgmental, evidence-based organisation putting science, client choice and agency at the heart of our projects. We thus built our organisation using these tenets.

The Dim Yma Strategy

At the outset, we resolved to follow the “do no harm” principle. But moreover, we sought to go beyond this concept, by ensuring that each of our interventions is demonstrably effective and robustly supported by studies, client feedback and academic literature. Our target group is clients with the most complex needs who have been homeless for a number of years.

Furthermore, we also routinely consult with a variety of leading homelessness international academics who have been instrumental in shaping our strategies. We conduct ongoing evaluations of our interventions, refining and improving where necessary to ensure they are delivered as effectively as possible.

Run by Volunteers, Funded by Volunteers

Dim Yma is managed by a passionate team of volunteers with an eclectic range of skills. On the board we have an Associate Professor of Latin America Studies, a former BBC World Producer, a Benefits Financial Assessor and a Software Programmer. The founder and Lead Organiser has been involved in a variety of international projects in the last decade including HIV/AIDS training, micro-financing and community saving schemes. All overheads including subscriptions, graphic design and administrative costs are covered by the founder.

Likewise, the majority of project funding has thus far has come from our board, with over 65% of income donated by the team. The remaining ~35% has been kindly donated by a select number of close family and friends. Furthermore, as noted above, we are proud to report that 100% of our donations go solely to where they are needed – directly to our clients. As we expand, we will be taking on paid positions, also compensated by the team, with a particular consideration to those that have lived-experience of homelessness. We also plan to soon transition our income to be partially from grant funding.