Nightstop Essex saving teens from the streets in Colchester

That’s the slogan being used to promote a new initiative which urgently needs volunteer community members to spare a room at their home for a young person - to stop them from spending a cold and dangerous night on the streets.

Known as Nightstop Essex, it has just launched in Colchester and Chelmsford, following its successful roll out elsewhere nationwide for more than 30 years and in 32 locations.

Aimed solely at 16 to 25-year-olds, Nightstop can intervene at crucial moments in a young person’s life and help to prevent long term homelessness later on in life.

Louise Groves, Nightstop volunteer co-ordinator for Colchester, explained: “They can be quite a vulnerable group. Teenage years are hard enough at any level and sometimes that’s where families meet breaking point. A young person might have fallen out with their family and need a place to stay for the night and we hope to bridge that gap.

“They might have come out of the care system or have been sofa surfing and that has to finish and they need a bed. Universal Credit might be due. Rents are high - they might have lost a job. There has been a pandemic, there are so many reasons why a person could be homeless.”

Alison Hartley, senior Nightstop co-ordinator for Colchester and Chelmsford, will manage the young people to the point where they are placed with their host.

She explained how the process worked.

“We will have a profile of hosts and their surroundings and make sure they are suitable.

Donation - Nationwide's Colchester branch awarded Nightstop Essex nearly £50,000 for the year

“We will call the host and give a short description about the young person and make sure they are comfortable to have the young person in, and go from there.”

Prior to the young person coming to Nightstop, they will have most likely been referred to it by the council. If the young person’s circumstances are deemed suitable for a Nightstop host, Alison will set the arrangements in place.

The young person may also be chaperoned by a Nightstop volunteer and driven to the host accommodation to ensure then ‘handover’ process goes smoothly and both parties are comfortable.

Louise said this also aimed to ensure the young person felt safe and happy to ensure they wouldn’t opt for a night on the streets instead - which could lead them to the company of someone with harmful intentions.

The host will have undergone a DBS check and their home will have to be deemed suitable, they are required to provide the person with a private bedroom, bathing facilities, a hot meal, breakfast and a packed lunch and £15 expenses are given. The host should also have access to a washing machine as some youngsters might arrive with only the clothes they are wearing.

There is also a 24-hour on call support service for both host and young person and the host can opt out of their role at any time.

Louise added: “It is important also, to have listening ear.”

Alison said: “We don’t expect them to be a counsellor, it is about accepting they are there on that night to receive them.”

After the night stay, there will be a pre-arranged place for the young person to go to.

Alison and Louise both emphasised the young people would be deemed as “low risk”.

Alison added: “If their circumstances meant they weren’t suitable, we wouldn’t take them on as they would need a different kind of support.

“If we were going to get young people who were a risk in a home, there would not be Nightstop. No host has been hurt in 30 years.”

Nightstop is overseen nationally by Depaul UK, a youth homelessness charity.

Mark Wood, the chief executive of Colchester Korban Project, a charity supporting homeless youngsters in the town, heard about Nightstop and sought about implementing it locally.

Nightstop Essex is being jointly delivered with Colchester Korban Project.

Crucially, he applied to Colchester’s Nationwide building society branch for a community grant and the board agreed to it.

Its donation has enabled Louise’s role to be funded for a year but the hope is Nightstop will get further funds after then, to enable the scheme to continue. Essex County Council, Colchester Council and Chelmsford Council are partners in the scheme.

Nationally 526 young people were hosted last year for a total of 7,019 nights, by 971 volunteers.

Louise added: “This is also about allowing the community to give back after a time where it has been hard to be part of a community recently. During Covid, we have learned to be compassionate. None of us is that far away from a night on the streets, but there is hope in projects like this.”

Julie Nurse, senior branch manager at Nationwide Building Society in Colchester, added: “Charities have been hit by the pandemic and anything we can do to support and help them continue their valuable work with communities is so important.

“We are delighted the Community Grant has enabled the Colchester Nightstop to progress and look forward to further involvement.”

For more information email nightstop.essex@depaulcharity.org.uk.

An online question and answer session for those interested in supporting Nightstop Essex is on Thursday at 7pm. Email or contact via Facebook to register.