4:59pm Saturday 26th April 2008
By Lynn Brown
A HOMELESS charity which helps young people with nowhere else to turn is looking for kind-hearted volunteers in Ryedale.
Every year York Nightstop finds emergency accommodation for hundreds of 16 to 25-year-olds from across North Yorkshire.
Now the charity, which is based in St Saviourgate, is recruiting helpers in the Ryedale area who will offer a destitute youngster a temporary home.
A spokeswoman for York Nightstop, Helen Kyriacou, said the only alternative for many the young people is a night sleeping rough on the streets.
She said: "Young people leave home for a variety of reasons including abuse, family breakdown, overcrowding and searching for work. Leaving home can often be an impulsive decision, with little time to organise an alternative place to stay before nightfall."
She said their service offered a hand of friendship to desperate youngsters across the county from Thirsk to Malton to Scarborough as well as York.
She added: "We are looking for more volunteers who will take in a young person for a night or two. It can be extremely rewarding for the family and the kindness of strangers can lift the spirits of a person who believes that nobody cares about them."
As well as recruiting new hosts, the charity is looking for volunteer drivers who will transport the young person to their overnight accommodation.
For more information contact York Nightstop on 01904 652043 or email info@york-nightstop.org.uk.
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