"SASH gives us all the support we need. All our visitors have been polite, undemanding and a pleasure to host. There have been no issues of unacceptable behaviour or situations we couldn’t handle. It all seems too easy!"
Sarah and Chris, Nightstop hosts.
SASH helps young people aged 16-24 who are homeless or at risk of homelessness in York and North Yorkshire. We provide accommodation and support through three different schemes, Nightstop, Crashpad and Supported lodgings. Each scheme relies on a network of local volunteers who accommodate in their own homes young people who would otherwise be homeless. Through our work, we do more than just provide a ‘roof over their head’. We aim to help young people break out of the cycle of homelessness and unemployment, by providing information, support and opportunities.
Nightstop
The SASH Nightstop service is available across York and North Yorkshire. If a young person needs accommodation in an emergency, this service can give them a bed for the night, dinner and breakfast in the safety of a volunteer’s home. A Nightstop can be arranged in as little as one hour, ensuring that a young person does not have to spend the night on the street or in unsuitable accommodation. The service is designed to provide a safe place to stay on a temporary basis whilst the appropriate agencies work to find a more sustainable solution.
Crashpad
Very often, a young person is homeless due to family breakdown. The SASH Crashpad scheme, which operates in York, can provide a ‘breathing space’ of a few weeks for the young person to live with one of our volunteer hosts. During this time, agencies have a chance to work with the family with a view to enabling that young person to return home.
Supported Lodgings
Through our Supported Lodgings scheme, SASH helps young people who have been made homeless to develop independent living skills in a supportive environment, before moving on into their own accommodation. The scheme is aimed at those who are not able to live at home, but do not yet have the skills or the maturity to live on their own.
The young person lives with a volunteer host for up to two years. They have a licence agreement and pay bills like a lodger, but receive support from their host, the SASH project co-ordinators and other agencies as appropriate in order gain the skills they need.
All young people in SASH Supported Lodgings must be in work, employment or training. During their stay in Supported Lodgings they receive training on topics such as money management and tenancies. When a young person is ready to move on, they receive support to find suitable accommodation. The SASH Supported Lodgings scheme is currently only available in York.
To read more about what we've done over the past year, click on our Annual Review below.
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