The weather was perfect for this year’s Mid Devon Show – sunny and warm without being too hot, and a small team from CHAT joined the newly refreshed Churches Tent for a fantastic day of conversations and connections.

Our aim for the day was simple: to raise awareness of CHAT, the support we provide and the reality of homelessness here in Mid Devon.

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Making hidden homelessness visible

Homelessness doesn’t always look how people expect it to.

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In Mid Devon, someone without a secure home may be sofa surfing, staying temporarily with friends or family, or living in a tent. This can mean homelessness remains largely hidden from view.

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To help bring this to life, we set up a small tent alongside a large rucksack and sleeping bag, representing the reality faced by some of the people we support.

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It proved to be a powerful conversation starter.

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Many visitors were genuinely surprised to discover that people are experiencing homelessness in Mid Devon, including people living in tents and carrying their belongings with them. It gave our team an opportunity to talk about some of the circumstances that can lead to homelessness and explain how CHAT can help.

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Conversations across the show

Throughout the day, our team spoke to people who had never heard of CHAT as well as those who knew our work very well.

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Peter said: “The most moving part of the day was hearing so many people thank us for what we do at CHAT. We had supported friends and family of a lot of the people we met, and it was very touching to see that we had made a difference in so many lives.”

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One visitor even told Peter that she wished there was an organisation like CHAT where she lived and suggested we should franchise!

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We’re Going on a Bean Hunt!

There was plenty for younger visitors too. Our “We’re Going on a Bean Hunt” activity saw more than 40 children exploring the Churches Tent to find answers to questions about CHAT and the people we support, often with parents joining in along the way.

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The rather large jar of lollies may have provided a little extra encouragement!

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Having the children’s activities close to our stand brought lots of families our way and created another relaxed opportunity to start conversations about our work.

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Spreading the word about CHAT

We had a wonderful day meeting people from across Mid Devon, answering questions and helping more people understand both the realities of homelessness locally and the support available through CHAT.

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Days like the Mid Devon Show give us an important opportunity to reach people who may not otherwise come across our work. Some may go away knowing where to turn if they ever need support themselves; others may remember CHAT when a friend, relative or neighbour needs help.

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And, alongside all those important conversations, we managed to give away quite a few lollies too!