ONE of the city’s most well-established charities commemorated its 50th anniversary in style with a rides on the i360.

Brighton Housing Trust, a group that works to combat homelessness in the city, hosted an evening at the attraction which was attended by the organisation’s founders, staff, guests, mayor Dee Simson and many individuals who have received help from the charity.

Chief executive of the charity Andy Winter said: “It’s a shame that organisations like this need to exist in such an affluent country, but without the trust and our partner organisations the homeless situation would be a lot worse.”

He revealed that last year the charity helped 222 people move off the streets and prevented 817 households from becoming homeless. He added: “I have been here for 33 of the trust’s 50 years and in that time the situation has become worse. First there was inequality, then poverty, and now we have destitution, people do not have enough money and the cruel welfare benefit system is causing people real hardship, having to make decisions between basic needs such as feeding their children and putting the heating on.

“I wish this was a celebration of our work being done, but it’s not. Nevertheless, we can celebrate years of good work helping the city.”

The charity’s contribution to the city was praised by mayor Dee Simson

She said: “Brighton Housing Trust has had an amazing effect on so many people’s lives.

“It’s not about providing a bed for the night and dealing with people quickly, it’s a long-term project that deals with any underlying problems that may have caused an individual to become homeless, so they can recover fully.”

The trust prides itself on long-term solutions and many people who have received support go on to work with and for the charity.

Ian Millar, a board member of the trust, said: “We look into the future, the real test is whether people have remained housed and dependency free in the one, two and 25 years after we work with them. It’s more than just not having somewhere to live, a lot of people we have worked with now work with us and it’s their way into paid employment.”

An example of this is Donna Denyer, who beat substance dependency with the support of the trust and, after volunteering for the charity for eight years, assumed a role as project consultant assistant. She said: “I believe if I did not receive the help and support that I did, my life would look very different.”