Homeless charity St Petrocs marks 40 years of work

A charity working to end homelessness in Cornwall has marked its 40th anniversary.

St Petrocs began working in the county in 1986 and now has more than 60 employees working to support people who are struggling.

The independent charity said it had supported 153 people who were sleeping on Cornwall's streets in October 2025 - a 35% increase on the same month in 2024. It added that it had supported more than 1,500 people in 2025.

Lois Wild, director of engagement, said it was "so shocking to see the scale of service provision we've had to provide in response to the growing need over all those years".

She said: "It's unbelievable to think back to 40 years ago, a group of people in Truro coming together and seeing the need in Cornwall to address homelessness.

"At that time, that was one house in Truro that they bought... that was just for six people - today we have 24 houses across Cornwall providing accommodation for 166 people."

Wild said "thousands and thousands" of people in Cornwall had been supported since it began its services.

She said: "It's amazing actually how as we go out and about in community, will be doing a talk or an event or something like that.

"Someone will come over and say, 'you supported me 20 years ago, here I am today, I've got family, I've got my own business', you know, amazing, amazing stories like that."

St Petrocs said it was being supported by the Tregothnan Private Garden Open Weekend to mark its milestone on the 25 and 26 April.

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