Community First New Forest
...building relationships, enabling action!
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News & Events |
Supporting Homeless Young People in the New Forest |
New Forest Nightstop, which is run by Community First New Forest, provides emergency short-term accommodation for homeless young people.
The project is only possible with the help of willing volunteers such as David Eley.
David became a volunteer with New Forest Nightstop after moving to the New Forest from London where he had grown up and worked all his life.
As a youngster David was always a member of a youth club and then in his early twenties became a Youth Club Leader, which he carried on doing for many years.
When David moved to the New Forest, and heard about New Forest Nightstop and their work amongst young people, he says it was a natural decision to join the organisation.
According to David, “Young people who need the help of Nightstop are no different to any other young person in this world today – it is just that they have hit a problem in their life and need guidance to get back on track”.
Although there are systems are in place to help, in practice it can be very daunting especially for a young person in this situation for the first time to find their way through a minefield of bureaucracy and red tape, with countless forms of never ending questions to answer and numerous interviews to attend with housing officers and Job Centres.
David explains, “This is where the role of Support Volunteer comes in. Some young people require the whole spectrum of help whilst others just need a bit of support.
Practical help varies from assisting the young person with completing forms and accompanying them to interviews, to giving them ideas of where to go next in search of lodgings or a job.
Other young people just need somebody to show some interest, be there to rely upon or simply just believe in them”.
There is no particular experience or qualifications needed to become a Support Volunteer but in David’s experience, “Provided you are a good listener, you know what is on offer for young people and you have a genuine desire to help a young person who is in a difficult position then great satisfaction can be achieved from this important role”.
If you are interested in helping New Forest Nightstop with any of the volunteering roles available - support volunteer, host family or driver - then contact Jude Todd, Acting Co-ordinator on 01425 478391 or nightstopsupport@cfnf.org.uk. |
Three years on from the creation of a new volunteering role at New Forest Nightstop, Support Volunteers have helped young people navigate some of the hardest times they have faced in their young lives. Thank you to all our funders for their support, it is appreciated and is vital to our work and the difference we make together towards improving the quality of life of people in the New Forest. Please follow the link to see a list of our funders: | |||||||||||
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Archstone House, Pullman Business Park, Pullman Way, Ringwood BH24 1HD Telephone: 01425 482773 Fax: 01425 482666 Email: admin@cfnf.org.uk Registered in England as a company limited by guarantee. Registered Charity No: 1068964 Registered Company No: 3483827 |
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