A youth charity has called for volunteers to join a service providing emergency accommodation to homeless young people.
The Nightstop service from Depaul UK provides short-term accommodation for 16 to 25 year olds in need, called ‘bed nights’, in the homes of pre-approved volunteers. Around 7,000 such volunteers provided 13,400 bed nights last year, the charity reports, close to 3,000 more than in the previous year.
But the charity reports a sharp jump in demand for emergency accommodation – by 300 per cent during 2014 compared to the previous year, rising to 400 per cent in London. It is now seeking to recruit many more volunteers via a poster campaign.
Depaul Chief Executive Martin Houghton-Brown said:
“More young people than ever are sleeping in unsafe places.”
He added:
“Nightstop has been running for over 20 years and our experience shows it is a safe and positive experience for volunteers and for young people who come to stay.”
Read more here.
Photo by CileSuns92 via Flickr
great service – sad to read the dramatic increases in numbers of young people facing homelessness – fear many may be coming from the care system – more evidence of the need to raise the leaving care to 21