HIKING TO HELP END YOUTH HOMELESSNESS: HARRIS LAMB SIGNS UP FOR THE ST BASIL’S WALK
A team of hikers from Harris Lamb have begun training for a 12-mile hike through the Black Mountains to help young homeless people.
Two teams, totalling 10 people from the business, will tackle the St Basil’s Walk on June 23rd, which this year starts in Hay-on-Wye and navigates sections of the Black Mountains.
Harris Lamb’s Chief Adventurer Tom Morley assembled the teams and picked the challenge, picking the St Basil’s Walk because of its local legacy and its reputation as the most unique walking challenge on the events calendar.
“Over the past few years, we’ve pulled teams together from across the business to take part in various charity challenges – with the last two years seeing us complete the Cumbrian Challenge for Walking With The Wounded.
“This year, we decided to try something different, and with the event now being in its 20th year, we thought the St Basils Walk would be a good one to tackle. It is considered the most unique walk challenge on the events calendar because it happens in a different location every year and does not have direction markers along. Each team has a map and an illustrated guide, book so they have to figure out the route as they go.
Tom does like the odd hike.
“This year’s route starts and ends in Hay-on-Wye and we’re hopeful we’ll raise some much-needed funds for the charity as we navigate our way around the 12.2-mile route,” he said.
Tom will be joined by Andy Lamb, Anne Lamb, Charles D’Auncey, Abi Taylor, Rob Pinks, Olivia Morris, Alice Harding, Alex Evans and former colleague Keith Watkeys for the hike.
St Basils works with young people aged 16-25 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, helping more than 5,000 young people every year across the West Midlands region with specific services in Birmingham, Sandwell, Solihull, Walsall, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, the Wyre Forest and Coventry.
Every year over 1,200 young people are housed in the charity’s 29 supported accommodation schemes, which for some young people includes their young children as well. St Basil’s offers a range of prevention, accommodation and support services to help young people regain the stability they need to rebuild their lives, gain skills, training and employment and move on. The aim is to help them successfully break the ‘cycle of homelessness’ so that they can go on to experience a bright, fulfilling future and never return to a state where they are at risk of homelessness again.
Anyone wanting to help raise awareness and funds by signing up for the walk should visit http://www.stbasils.org.uk/help-us/walk/.
Black Mountains image: iStock/bearacreative