I began to care passionately about homelessness in 2004, and began running a cafe for meals for homeless people at Queen's Hall Methodist Church. For the next 4 years I built connections with Wigan Council, helping to build an awareness of the problems and aiming to help the Queen's Hall to run a dedicated homeless centre somewhere in the Town Centre. In 2008 the Church bought and refurbished the Bricklayers Arms in Wigan.

 I ran the Brick from 2008 to 2016 when I retired. Homelessness is a big problem in society and is never as simple as giving someone a property, there needs to be a change of mindset for entrenched rough sleepers. 

The Brick continues to be a strong influence in Wigan and I am proud to be able to do my bit to help them further.

Trish