Families have coronavirus level of stress
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and think negatively but they can look back at it being a positive time.”
Rebecca and her team help everyone from young single parents to those who have been kicked out of the family home due to a disagreement about their pregnancy.
She explained: “It’s an extremely rewarding job, we work with some amazing young people with so much going on and so many issues they face on a daily basis, they really do blow us away.
“There can be a bit of a negative stereotype with young people but these young people are trying everything they possibly can to provide for themselves and their families.
“It does come with its challenges. We’re a small team with only four members of staff. A lot of the cases we see involve family breakdowns sometimes when family members find out about a pregnancy, they don’t agree with it and ask them to leave.
“We have a bit of a mixture we had our first single father, we have families going through the court process to get their children returned to their care.
“We’ve seen pregnant women sofa surfing and sofa surfing with a baby.”
But their support goes way beyond just accommodation.
Rebecca said: “If somebody needs support for budgeting or shopping, we can help with that. We support people with feeds and how to make meals, just support them with being a mum. We encourage them to shop at places like Aldi and Lidl rather than going to their local shop which can be quite expensive.
“We work closely with mental health teams and provide emotional support too.
“It’s equally important that my staff are doing well so it’s just a case of making sure they’re OK. My staff are loneworking at the moment.
“Staff are scared, it’s a scary time for everyone. They have all got families who they are not seeing at the moment. think everyone is worried.”
In the North East, 1.3% of young people aged between 16-24 are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
At least 4,136 young people across the North East approached their local authority for help last year because they were homeless or at risk of homelessness, according to new findings from Centrepoint’s annual Youth Homelessness Databank report.
Centrepoint provides housing and support for young people across the UK with several hostels set up around the region. Many of these rely on donations from local businesses and random acts of kindness for essentials like food and toiletries.
Rebecca said: “We used our own networks to source PPE because everything was rightly going to the NHS so it was a case of what was in the area at the time.
“We very much rely on random acts of kindness. Food and toiletry products are always welcome. Any tinned food, rice, pasta, pasta sauces and fresh fruit and vegetable which are a luxury because they can’t afford it.
“These young people are doing all they can for their families, any donations can go a long way to helping them.”
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We work with some amazing young people with so much going on and so many issues they face on a daily basis, they really do blow us away.
REBECCA CROSBY