Nearly 7,000 items of clothing and household goods have been handed to families in need in Llanelli, through a partnership between local charities and a Swansea-based “multibank.”
The drive has been spearheaded by Llanelli town councillor Shaun Greaney, who has been working to bring the Cwtch Mawr Multibank’s reach to the town and the wider county.
The Multibank takes surplus goods donated by major companies — items that might once have gone to landfill — and redistributes them, in pristine condition, to people who need them.
Councillor Greaney said nearly 7,000 clothing and household items had been issued to people in difficult circumstances.
The help was delivered in partnership with seven local organisations: Ty Gwyn Church, Tyisha Foodbank, Myrtle House Foodbank, Llanelli LLAMAS (the Llanelli Autistic Mothers Association), Llanelli Women’s Refuge, the Links mental health charity, and Morfa Family Centre.
A batch of free baby milk for infants aged up to 12 months has also been distributed, going to the Llanelli Foodbank at Myrtle House, Tyisha Foodbank and Llanelli LLAMAS.
Councillor Greaney, who represents the Lliedi ward, said he had seen poverty at close quarters.
“It is a scourge on our society,” he said. “It leads to premature deaths and blights the lives of too many families. I am determined to do everything I can to tackle this through direct action and hard work.”
He described the approach as “hugs not handouts,” saying it was about preserving people’s dignity.
“It delivers dignity. It allows families to function. It helps keep the wolf from the door,” he said.
He said one story in particular had stayed with him.
“I have heard of a young girl, aged nine, who received a pair of new shoes as a result of the Multibank’s work — she was thrilled and had tears in her eyes,” he said. “Because she had never had anything new in her life.”
He added that it was “heartbreaking” to hear that children were sometimes taken into care with their belongings in black bin bags.
Councillor Greaney said councils and councillors of all parties should put tackling poverty at the top of the agenda, and was critical of the impact of what he called “fourteen years of Tory austerity” on public services.
He paid tribute to the charities and volunteers who had taken the project on, saying they had helped cut through red tape to reach the people who needed help most.
The Cwtch Mawr Multibank was the idea of former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown, and works with companies including Amazon to redistribute unsold goods.
Run in Swansea in partnership with the charity Faith in Families, it has given out almost 1.5 million items across the Swansea Bay area, with support from the Welsh Government and Swansea Council.
The Multibank has steadily expanded across the region, including a pilot into Neath Port Talbot and, more recently, into Bridgend.
Councillor Greaney said Carmarthenshire County Council had agreed to establish something similar in the county, but that this had not yet happened.
Wider hopes for the town
Councillor Greaney also welcomed the £20 million Pride in Place project for Llanelli, a 10-year regeneration scheme he said could “transform the prospects of our town and its people.”
He welcomed the appointment of Steve Donoghue as the project’s independent chairman, and said he hoped the board running it would be made up of people with a track record of making a difference. Residents are currently being invited to apply to sit on that board.
He praised Llanelli MP Dame Nia Griffith for securing the money, and said that used wisely — alongside Carmarthenshire County Council’s town centre projects — it could “deliver hope where there has been despair.”
He added that it was vital the profitable Trostre tinplate works, which employs nearly 600 people, remained in Llanelli, and that the Scarlets rugby region was protected — describing both as part of the town’s “heart and soul.”
