A CHARITY for homeless young people has launched a new campaign aimed at recruiting more volunteer "hosts" in Ryedale.

SASH is aiming to challenge perceptions of what homelessness means for young people and to encourage local people to come forward to help.

What does “homeless” look like?, features 19-year-old Roberta, who was made homeless when she was 17.

Roberta was sofa-surfing for about four months before getting help from SASH.

She said: “They were constantly threatening to boot me out and there were bailiffs at the door, druggies, things like that. It wasn’t very nice. I was still going to college, but my mind was all over the place, so studying was difficult.”

Roberta went to live in the home of a SASH "host" called Helen who helped her to stabilise her life, giving her a safe place to live and helping her to learn to live independently.

Now Roberta has completed her studies and is preparing to go to university in Sheffield in September. She said she hoped that her backing for SASH’s campaign will persuade more people like Helen come forward and help.

“Going to Helen’s has made a lot of difference to me," she said.

"Things at college got better. I always knew that I wanted to go to uni and now I’ve managed it. I’m always recommending SASH. I’m constantly saying to people if they get into the situation where they’re homeless, there’s this route they can go down. It’s just the best thing.”

As Roberta prepares for a new start at university, she hopes that her backing for SASH’s campaign will persuade more people like Helen come forwards and help.

SASH director Peter Robinson said: “Homelessness in young people is usually a hidden problem; young homeless people are sofa-surfing with friends rather than sleeping rough.

"We know from research by Centrepoint that sofa surfing is very common among young people in our area and that often young people are forced to stay in unsafe places, including rough sleeping.

"This means they are not getting the help they need, and are often putting their education or employment at risk. With the help of our volunteer hosts, we aim to ensure that a young person’s first experience of homelessness is also their last."

Anyone who is interested in becoming a host should phone 01904 652043. For more information, go to sash-uk.org.uk