Local housing charity raises over £16,000 to support pets of the homeless
On Tuesday, February 4th, 2025, Coastline Housing colleagues presented a check for £16,806 to StreetVet, a charity that provides free veterinary care and services to pets of those experiencing homelessness. The check was presented during an outreach session at Coastline’s homeless center in Pool, where one of StreetVet’s celebrity partners, Julia Bradbury, was also in attendance.
This donation was the result of a year’s worth of fundraising efforts by colleagues at the Cornish housing charity, with this year’s total being a record amount. Deputy CEO Louise Beard expressed her pride in helping hand over the check, stating, “This is by far the most we’ve ever raised for a charity of the year, which just goes to demonstrate the huge support colleagues have for StreetVet and the incredible work they do with the pets of people experiencing homelessness.”
Coastline has been working closely with StreetVet for years and holds monthly outreach sessions at Chi Winder, their purpose-built homeless center in Pool. These sessions are always busy, with individuals living in the center’s crisis accommodation, supported housing, and those rough sleeping locally bringing their pets in for check-ups and treatments.
Beard also emphasized Coastline’s commitment to being a pet-inclusive organization, stating, “Just 10% of homeless hostels in the UK allow pets to stay with clients who are accessing crisis or supported accommodation. When we built our homeless center, we were certain that we wanted to let people who were staying there bring their pets with them.”
The funds were raised through various events, including their annual marathon challenge in September where teams collectively ran 800 miles in eight hours. Other events throughout the year included BBQs, a quiz night, raffle, St. Piran’s Day celebration, and even a “Coastline Olympics” event where teams participated in fun and comical challenges.
Zoe Abbotts, Chief Executive of StreetVet, expressed her gratitude for Coastline Housing’s support, saying, “Coastline Housing’s commitment to being a pet-inclusive organization aligns perfectly with our mission of protecting the human-animal bond, keeping pets and their owners together wherever possible.”
Head of Finance at Coastline, Zoe Field, organized the charity marathon challenge and added, “As a Cornish charity ourselves, we feel it is important that we do what we can to give to fellow charities operating in our area and support the great work that they do.” She also praised her colleagues for their creativity and efforts in fundraising each year.
