Yorkshire homeless charity launches ‘sponsor a room’ campaign to prevent young people sleeping rough

The charity provides emergency and longer-term supported accommodation to vulnerable 16-25 year olds across North and East Yorkshire, who have nowhere safe to stay.

129,000 young people faced being homeless last year.

That’s thousands of young people without a safe and warm place to stay, but instead are left alone and worried about where they will sleep.

Young people like, Erin.

Erin was 7 years old when her dad passed away. She lived with her mum and siblings before her mum remarried and her stepdad joined the household.

When she was 19 Erin sadly lost her mum to a long-term illness.

Within a couple of weeks, the family home where she grew up became unsafe.

Erin’s stepdad was an alcoholic.

She was left alone and sad with nowhere to turn.

That’s when she found SASH.

Erin said: “Since being in SASH everything’s changed for the better, I’ve now got a boyfriend, a new job and I’m making a better life for myself.

"I’ve had to mature a lot quicker than most people, but I’ve become more confident as a young adult and I’m looking forward to the future”.

Linsey Trower, Fundraising and Communications Manager for SASH said: “It should be a basic human right that everyone has a safe place to stay, but so many young people, due to no fault of their own don’t have this.

"There are so many reasons why young people face being homeless, from family breakdowns to bereavement and fleeing abuse.

"Many are as young as 16”.

She added: “That’s why we are asking the local community to come together and support our ‘sponsor a room’ campaign to enable us to help more local, vulnerable young people, like Erin who have nowhere else to turn.

"By sponsoring a room, you can give a young person in need a warm and safe environment where they can reset their life journey and build a brighter future for themselves”.

SASH provides young people facing homelessness with a safe place to stay within the home of one of its hosts.

Hosts are ordinary people with a spare room and an open heart and mind.

In addition to safe accommodation, SASH provides young people with the support they need to tackle the trauma that has led them to becoming homeless.

To build resilience and improve their mental and, in some cases physical wellbeing.

Secure educational and employment opportunities and develop key skills so they can move on to live and thrive independently in the future”.

SASH is aiming to raise £20,000 from its sponsor a room campaign, which would help to cover the basic cost of its emergency bednights accommodation for up to a year.

To get involved and save a young person from having to sleep on the streets visit https://www.sash-uk.org.uk/donate/sponsor-a-room/ or call 03300 562 259.