Devonshire ezine Spring 19

Sarah Lakey is the Senior Community & Events Fundraiser for the
Devon & Dorset branch of Julian House, a registered charitable society
NIGHTSTOP DEVON
JULIAN HOUSE - Sarah Lakey
sarah.lakey@julianhouse.org.uk
Youth homelessness is on the increase with
more young people sofa surfing in order to
avoid having to sleep rough on the streets
Julian House offers a service
specifically to support 16-25 year
olds, Nightstop Devon. This provides
same day emergency overnight
accommodation for young homeless
people, between the ages of 16-25, in
the homes of volunteer hosts who
have been trained and vetted. Not
only does this prevent young people
from having to sleep on the streets
or sofa surfing in friends homes, but
acts as a service to find solutions to
their housing situation and works
with other agencies to find long term
accommodation.
Nightstop Devon shares the journey
of one young person, Martin, aged
20, who became homeless. He was
asked to leave accommodation which
supports young people with drug
and alcohol issues because he tested
positive for cannabis. Martin sofa
surfed at his friends flat, putting his
friend's tenancy at risk.
After making a homeless application
to the local council he was referred to
Nightstop Devon. When completing
his references, it was highlighted
Martin had struggled with class
'A' drugs and family breakdown
which lead to him being referred
to supported accommodation. The
support team felt this was not the
best option for Martin as he wanted
to focus on getting work and his
own private rented flat. With this
in mind he used Nightstop Devon
for six weeks with several hosts who
found Martin to be well-mannered
and had a proactive approach to
finding secure accommodation.
Martin stated he found Nightstop
Devon a good experience as he could
see how other people lived and it has
inspired him to live independently.
In addition, he started to build a
positive relationship with his family
and began meeting them in the
day time between engaging with
Nightstop Devon support staff.
Martin was offered an interview for a
trainer tenancy which could support
him to gain the skills to maintain a
long-term tenancy in the private
rented sector. After being offered a
place with another young person in
a two-bedroom flat, Martin engaged
well with support staff and completed
the Young Person’s Outcome Star
which helped him highlight any issues
he needed to address.
Martin has recently started working
a part-time job as a labourer at a
building site and has started to look
at mentorships to gain a trade and
hopefully full-time employment. His
relationship with family has grown
and the support gained from them
has helped maintain a stable tenancy.
Martin is aiming to move into a shared
house and feels the skills gained
from building relationships with new
people, cooking fresh food and the
tenancy training course he attended
will ensure he stays in stable and
secure accommodation.
Martin sofa surfed at
his friends' flat, putting
his friend's tenancy
at risk
Nightstop Devon relies on private
funding and donations from the
public in order to run the service.
It costs £35 to provide emergency
accommodation for a young person
per night. Donations can be made
via our online Just Giving page;
http://bit.ly/2NcpA3b
To find out more about the service
please contact Sarah Lakey; sarah.
lakey@julianhouse.org.uk
To refer a young person to the service
please call: 01392 573606
PEOPLE HOME DESIGN LIFESTYLE HISTORY
CONTENTS 93