FREEMASONS have given a York-based youth homelessness charity £50,000, which will help fund the provision of emergency accommodation for three months.

The donation to SASH (Safe and Sound Homes) comes at a time when young people have been suffering particularly acute homelessness and other problems because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Chief executive Philippa Robson said 2020 had been a challenging year for everyone but had been especially so for young people facing homelessness.

“In these uncertain times, young people have presented with increased needs, including poor mental health and anxiety about their futures,” she said.

She said she was "absolutely delighted" by the donation from the Freemasons, which would enable SASH to continue to work with young people in York and Scarborough, providing vital support to prepare them to live and thrive independently in the future.

The Freemasons Provincial Grand Lodge of Yorkshire N & E Ridings tweeted that it was delighted to announce that it had secured the grant of £50,000 from the Freemasons Covid-19 community fund to support SASH, which supported young homeless people in York, Scarborough and other key areas.

“This will allow the charity to support their Night Stop Emergency Accommodation Service for three months,” it added.

SASH, which helped to prevent 320 young people becoming homeless in 2018, said in its annual review last year that it had grown over recent years from a small, local charity in York to one working across all of North and East Yorkshire, providing an emergency accommodation night-stop service, longer-term supported lodgings and a resettlement scheme.

The then chair Sue Thompson said its accommodation continued to be provided by ‘hosts’ - ordinary people who opened up their homes and offered their spare room to help vulnerable 16-25 year olds who had nowhere else to go.

“The effect of their generosity is twofold,” she said. “The young person is not left to navigate the trauma of homelessness on their own, and they are cared for in a home environment – the best possible place.”