Local charity appeal to support homelessness in Aylesbury

Aylesbury-based charity, Youth Concern, is launching an appeal for young people to get in touch and take part in a research project to share their experiences of homelessness.

For over 40 years Youth Concern has provided emotional and practical support for young people suffering abuse, poverty and homelessness in Aylesbury.  It operates a drop-in centre for 13-25 year olds at the Uptown Coffee Bar as well as a short-term emergency accommodation service called Nightstop.

In early 2021 Youth  Concern plan to relaunch Nightstop and are conducting research amongst young people who have experience of homelessness to get their feedback on how the current service can be improved upon to provide the best possible support to young people who find themselves homeless or at risk of homelessness.

Last year over 300 young people aged 16-24 approached Aylesbury Vale local authority as homeless or at risk of being homeless.  Nightstop had 64 young people referred to them who they were able to support with either emergency accommodation, a wraparound package of support or help into suitable follow-on accommodation.

Youth Concern’s CEO, Hannah Asquith, explains why it’s so important to hear from young people directly, “Nightstop is already providing a vital service to the young people of Aylesbury Vale but now more than ever, we need to look at how we can increase and improve the support that we offer, especially with the threat of greater levels of homelessness due to the pandemic.  We really hope that young people who have experience of homelessness will come forward and take part in this survey, which is completely anonymous, to help us shape the Nightstop service for the future.”

The survey comprises 11 questions and can be completed online or via the QR code below: