Help for homeless
Rock Trust begin work in area
A charity which provides emergency accommodation to homeless young people has extended its service to West Lothian.
This year the Rock Trust extended their Edinburgh-based Nightstop Service to cover West Lothian.
The service provides young people between the ages of 16 and 25 in a housing crisis with emergency accommodation for short periods of time in the homes of approved volunteer hosts.
The service is now recruiting Nightstop hosts to help them put this vital service into action.
A Rock Trust spokesperson said the hosts fulfil a very important role with support provided by the charity.
The spokesperson said: “Hosts with a spare room provide a young person a bed, food, and access to necessary utilities.
“They are provided full training by the Rock Trust team and dedicated 24- hour support when hosting a young person.
“This form of support is a vital way of providing at-risk young people with a safe space to stay, while the Rock Trust help them to find stable, longterm accommodation, and provide them with round the clock support that addresses their individual needs and challenges.”
The extension of the Nightstop service to West Lothian comes as The Courier revealed that the number of children living in temporary accommodation reached over 300 for the first time in 15 years.
The Rock Trust spokesperson saidthe project aims to help make up for a shortfall in temporary accommodation across West Lothian.
They added: “The need for temporary accommodation in West Lothian has risen sharply, and in many cases existing options simply aren’t suitable or safe for young people.
“As well as increasing the risk of exposure to negative and potentially dangerous influences, communal temporary accommodation of the kind usually offered to people impacted by homelessness can play a part in entrenching homelessness.
“Nightstop is an alternative to this that aims to break the cycle of homelessness before it’s too late.”
As the trust appeal for hosts to come forward in West Lothian a current host told how it can be a “rewarding experience”.
Grace Khare said the work is a very tangible way of making a difference to someone’s life.
Grace said: “Being a Nightstop host has been an immensely rewarding experience.
“When I talk to people about it they tend to think it’s a big commitment, but I think it’s actually very low key.
“After all, you’re just providing a friendly ear, a meal, and a room for a young person for a couple of nights, as you would for a friend in need.
“Knowing that you’ve made even a slight difference in the life of a young person in danger is a very sustaining feeling.
“You feel like you’ve made a difference in your own little pocket of the world.”