Article from ‘Fame’ online magazine
Herts Young Homeless (hyh) are an independent charity who support vulnerable 16-24 year olds in the Hertfordshire region and have offices throughout the county.
The Hertfordshire based charity works together with young people in the local community to secure and maintain safe, stable accommodation. With over 15 years of experience, hyh appreciate the importance of preventing homeless situations from arising. They attain specialist prevention services that aim to avoid breakdown in family relationships – thus preventing homelessness before it actually happens.
A complex domestic situation was resolved through hyh mediation and a parent expressed their delight: “very happy with how my daughter and I were helped to appreciate one another again”. When this is not a realistic solution, hyh assist those affected and offer the chance for them to fulfil their potential despite their unfortunate problems. This is done through providing advice, support and many other services.
Research has shown that homelessness can lead to further issues such as drug and alcohol misuse, as well as poor mental health in some cases. These individuals require extra aid and the experts at hyh support them to reduce and relinquish their dependencies of these substances.
The charity offers a variety of help in numerous forms, including:
- Advice & Information
- Mediation (16-24 year olds)
- Mediation (under 16’s)
- Health
- Floating Support
- Crashpad
- Education
Home Truths
Home Truths is part of hyh and educates young people on housing, homelessness and independence through lessons, group workshops and assemblies. Their aim is to prevent homelessness and raise awareness amongst the youth; they achieve this by working closely with primary schools, secondary schools, colleges, support centres and youth groups. Their contribution has received praise from students, with 93% further understanding the realities of leaving home than before the lesson, whilst 100% of teachers and professionals would recommend their sessions to others.
Donating/Fundraising
If you would like to donate, there are many ways in which you can help. You can donate on the hyh website http://www.hyh.org.uk/donate-now . Alternatively, hyh offer a simple method to donate via SMS. In order to do this, simply send a text message to 70070 with the code HYHG01 followed by an amount of your choosing (between £1 and £10).
Text 70070 examples:
- HYHG01 £1 (£1 donation)
- HYHG01 £5 (£5 donation)
- HYHG01 £10 (£10 donation)
Should you wish to fundraise, whether it’s linked to your course or not, as part of a group or individually, you can create and organise your own activity. It may be a sporting tournament, or if you feel brave you can do something extreme, such as bungee jumping or sky diving! All you have to do is contact hyh and they will be happy to help where possible.
hyh are also seeking corporate donors to offer support to the charity so that they in turn can support those who need it most. Current partners include the likes of Sainsbury’s and John Lewis, who receive the opportunity to enhance their CSR credentials. So if you, or members of your family could put hyh’s name forward it would be a great help.
If you cannot spare any money, you can still help by sharing this article to spread the word about people who are forced into being homeless.
Click here to read the full article.