Heartbreaking stories of our homeless teenagers
PICK OF THE DAY
TEENAGER Josh was kicked out of his family home when his mum said there was no room for him. “Her boyfriend’s better than I am from the sounds of it,” Josh says.
His mum has since blocked all communication and he’s been forced to live on the streets of Blackpool.
Elsewhere, another teen is homeless after his mother died from cancer on Christmas Eve and he was unable to pay the rent, while one girl explains that her family home was so “toxic” that she had to move out when she was 14.
These are just some of the devastating stories that broadcaster and Strictly Come Dancing star Stacey Dooley uncovers as she meets homeless teenagers.
Last year in the UK over 100,000 young people declared themselves homeless, but the real number is much higher, with thousands going under the radar by sofa surfing.
In this film for Children In Need,
Stacey tries to find out what it’s like to be young and homeless.
Every story is heartbreaking. Josh,
18, a trained mechanic, lost his job when he lost his home and now takes anything he can.
Working a night shift means he can’t get to a homeless shelter in time for a bed. Elsewhere, Kat, 19, is sleeping in a tent under a railway bridge. “It makes you a bit depressed,” she says. While her friend Shelby is sleeping on a sofa in a friend’s garden. Another hard-hitting and important film from Stacey, who says: “It’s our job as a society to make sure we’re not failing these kids.”