The Cornelius Fund, a charity that assists local people with housing needs, have been campaigning for volunteers to join their team or get involved in supporting their work this winter.

The charity works to assist those who are experiencing housing issues, and they run a charity shop on Mill street in Kingsbridge where they sell second hand clothes and goods to help finance their work.

On Wednesday, they set up a stall in Kingsbridge’s Tesco to inform passers by of the work they do and encourage local people to help this winter.

They said: “we’ve had a table at Tesco… to increase the awareness.

“Our charity was set up to help local people with housing needs. We do this by offering interest free loans to people struggling to pay their first months rent (or) deposit. We are also able to provide grants to cover basic household items, for example flooring.

“Our aim is to hopefully find people who can (and) are willing to give some time to volunteer in our shop on Mill St or be involved on our committee.”

They were set up due to the shortage of affordable housing available to people in the Kingsbridge area, with many people struggling to pay their rent or the expensive deposits on their properties.

The charity provide deposits, and the first month’s rent if required, for those that need it as an interest-free loan, allowing clients to pay these loans back in payments they can afford. The charity also supplies secondhand furniture to assist their clients in furnishing accomodation. They are dependant on donations, which they raise through church collections, various fundraising events and their charity shop.

The work they do is helping to prevent homelessness, and ensure that everyone has the support they need to access accomodation.

This is especially important as winter approaches and the country sees cold spells nationwide.

The Big Issue reported that there were 28,882 homeless households recorded in 2021/22. The amount of people sleeping rough was believed to have decreased during the Covid-19 pandemic, but as the cost of living crisis affects households across the country, there are worries that this number will increase.

Charities such as the Cornelius Fund are fighting to ensure that doesn’t happen.

The charity welcomes any monetary donations, items or furniture to be sold in the shop, or volunteers to help work in store.

If you are interested in getting involved or donating to the charity, contact The Mill Street shop. This is also the place to collect an application form for a loan.