1,800 Steel Roses in Sheffield Cathedral

Eighteen hundred steel roses have just gone on display in Sheffield Cathedral to highlight the growing scale of youth homelessness.

Steel roses highlights the young homeless at Sheffield Cathedral.

Each rose represents one young person the South Yorkshire charity, Roundabout, has supported in the last three years.

Like Lydia:

Lydia said:

“My relationship with my mum had always been turbulent but when Covid hit, I stopped going to school and ended up living with my dad and great-grandparents. My dad had his own struggles and the lockdown only made things worse. Things reached a breaking point, and I left home. I started sofa surfing, carrying my belongings in black bin bags and sleeping where I could.”

Drone footage : Isaac Lawrenson

Lydia was referred to Roundabout at the age of 17, after telling her college tutor about her situation.

The charity helped her secure a place in a female only hostel.

Today she has her own flat and has benefited from Roundabout’s mediation team service plus counselling. Lydia is now a peer educator for the charity, sharing her stories with young people across Sheffield. She is starting a degree in working with children, young people and families at Sheffield Hallam University.

She added:

“I feel like this role gives meaning to everything I’ve been through. If I had received this kind of information earlier, maybe I wouldn’t have suffered for so long. Roundabout has been like a family to me. I honestly don’t know where I’d be without them.”

Lydia’s story is one of nineteen that feature among the Roundabout Roses display which had its debut at the Art in the Gardens event last weekend and are now on display at Sheffield Cathedral until the end of October.

Each of the roses are for sale and it is hoped #RoundaboutRoses will raise around £70,000 for the charity which offers shelter, support, life skills sessions and trips for vulnerable young people at risk of homelessness.

The Revd Canon Justin Dodd said:

“Sheffield Cathedral is committed to being an active partner in tackling homelessness in the city.

“We’re delighted to be hosting Roundabout Roses and the remarkable stories of transformation and resilience that each handcrafted steel bloom represents.”

Julie MacDonald, trustee for Sheffield-based Roundabout, added:

“When people take home a Roundabout Rose, it will be a symbol of hope. Each time they see it they will know they have made a difference to a young person’s life. There is so much demand for Roundabout’s services. We have seen record numbers several times this year and we now have waiting lists for some services.

“Money raised will help us to give vulnerable young people the support they deserve.”

Today the charity supports more than double the number of people it did six years ago and has seen a sharp increase in demand due to the cost of living crisis.

“With Roundabout Roses we wanted to create something beautiful but shocking at the same time”, said Emily Bush, fundraising manager and campaign creator. Unless it affects you directly, homelessness can be overlooked.

“But this powerful display shows exactly how many young people in South Yorkshire are affected.

“The flowers have the strength of steel, but the fragility of a rose, just like our young people.

“They have been through so much and yet they are resilient, they keep going.

“So many of them go on to work in jobs which support other people because they want

Roundabout roses can be reserved at the Sheffield Cathedral gift shop and online at roundaboutroses.co.uk 

The roses are available at two price points to ensure affordability. Mild steel roses cost £25 and stainless steel roses cost £40.

Flowers are available in a variety of heights, so they can be used in gardens, on graves, or as household ornaments. They can be engraved for an additional cost.

They will also be available to purchase at pop up shops and upcoming key events across Sheffield.

Facts and figures

• Roundabout supports 380 young people every day, up from 150 people a day six years ago.
• Since 2021, the youth housing charity has worked with 1,800 young people aged from 16 to 25.
• It provides emergency accommodation for homeless young people at its hostel and supports young people to live independently elsewhere.
• This year Roundabout is the chosen charity for both Sheffield’s Lord Mayor Coun Jayne Dunn and Rotherham’s Lord Mayor Coun Sheila Cowen.
• The steel roses have been crafted for Roundabout by James Sutton Sculpture in Gainsborough.
• Nationally, just under 136,000 young people approached their local council as homeless or about to become homeless in 2022-2023. That number would more than fill Wembley Stadium and Sheffield Wednesday’s stadium.

Photo Credit : Green Vision Photography