A CHARITY in York is appealing to residents to house young homeless people over the cold winter months.

SASH helps prevent homelessness in York by setting homeless people up between the ages of 16 and 25 with emergency accommodation through a night stop service. People offer their house as temporary accommodation to help homeless individuals get back on their feet.

Rachel Turnbull offers her house over the winter period. She said: “I started offering temporary accommodation at the start of this year after a friend told me about the scheme.

“Each individual who stays is checked out by the company before they arrive.

“It’s all about making sure they feel comfortable and at home. Some people stay for a night or so whilst others have stayed for up to two weeks.

“You can feel guilty when walking past homeless people but by being part of the scheme you feel you are contributing to helping others get back on their feet again and reduce the numbers on the streets in York.”

A night stop survey found that 85 percent of homeless people using the SASH service did not know where they would have slept if the service had not been available.

Manager of SASH, Clare Usher, said that without the generosity of people in the area, homelessness in young people can lead to a long-term cycle of entrenched homelessness and unemployment; leading to other problems such as alcohol or drug dependency.

Ellie McCullough, 53 from Holgate has been housing teenagers for two years. She and her partner, Pete, 58, joined the scheme instead of fostering a child and said that they loved helping people who regularly return to visit them.

She said: “We have housed three people for long periods over the two years. We helped an asylum seeker as he started York College and a local girl who stayed with us for 15 months.

“Currently, we have a refugee who had to leave the Calais Jungle Crisis in 2015. When he first arrived he barely spoke any English but he has started at college and is grateful to us.

“Just last week the local girl we housed came back to visit with a friend.

“It just shows what a worthwhile project and experience this is, that allows you to help someone in need and create friends for life.

“Most people think that it will turn your life upside down but you SASH make sure that they are at school or work and have an independent life.”

Mrs Usher said: “With the help of people like Rachel and Ellie, 90 percent of those leaving our supported lodgings were in education, training or employment when they left SASH.”

The company relies heavily on donations to support the work. If you would like to donate or volunteer go to www.sash-uk.org.uk