More young people in South Yorkshire at risk of 'sofa surfing' or 'sleeping rough' this winter
That's according to a youth homelessness charity who support 16–25-year-olds across the region
A youth homelessness charity in South Yorkshire admits they're 'not sure' if they'll be able to keep up with demand for their services over the coming months.
Roundabout-which is based in Sheffield-expect more young people to end up on the streets due to the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
Ben Keegan from the organisation says families will be under a lot more pressure-which could lead to a breakdown in some relationships at home:
"Every young person and teenager will have issues with their parents at some point. It's just about getting through those periods where tensions are running really high.
"If there's more pressure on finance, then those arguments at home can become more serious.
"All families are going to suffer this winter.
"It's going to be really difficult for all families to make ends meet, and if there's an extra person in that house who's putting on the electric more often than they should be, it'll lead to more tension and arguments.
"The knock on from this is that more young people will end up leaving home."
Mr. Keegan, who is the Chief Executive of Roundabout, says a lot of families will end up in an 'unthinkable' position because of soaring energy prices:
"It's just a really horrible situation to be in, where people are faced with making choices about what to do with their finances, and some of those choices might end up resulting in parents having to kick their son or daughter out because of how expensive it is to have them at home.
"In terms of being able to house everyone that needs support, I'm just not sure if we're going to be able to do it.
"Unfortunately, a lot of young people will put themselves in positions of sleeping on sofas or finding unsafe places to sleep this winter, which is really worrying for us."
You can find out more about Roundabout on their website below:
https://www.roundabouthomeless.org/