"Hidden homelessness destroys lives in North East"
It's claimed many young homeless people in our region are being sexually abused in exchange for shelter.
A charity claims that the physical and mental effects of hidden homelessness can destroy lives.
Depaul will launch their report, Danger Zones and Stepping Stones, in parliament this afternoon with hopes to highlight the risks with so called ‘sofa surfing’.
The report shows that young people often said that temporary living made them feel “worthless” or “pathetic” with many vulnerable to mistreatment and exploitation. “They could have done anything to me,” recalled one person.
A list of recommendations have been set, including calls for more preventative services, steps taken to reduce stigma, an adequate mix of accommodation and more emergency accommodation.
Joe Kirwin, the North East regional coordinator at Depaul, claims that sexual exploitation in temporary accommodation is on the rise. He said:
“There will be people stopping with people they have never heard of, there will be young girls trading sexual favours to keep the roof over their head for the night. I’ve worked with young women, who when the people they were staying with found out that they were gay they were kicked out because they realised that they weren’t going to get anything from them.
“It’s not just young women, its young men who are trading sexual favours to keep that roof over their head for the night because they realise that if they don’t they have nowhere else to go. But because we use this phrase ‘sofa surfing’ they are often forgot about, they’re not seen as a risk because they have a roof over their head.
“The North East has had the biggest rise in homelessness outside London since 2010. People often don’t see homelessness because it is those people who are stopping with friends or family or stopping in very dangerous situations. So, they have a roof over their head but they don’t have a safe place to stay.”
Leon, 23, from Whitley Bay contributed towards the report after he suffered homelessness aged just 18. He said:
“Even though you are on a coach, you don’t have your own home. You’re not on that couch all the time, sometimes it can be a long time, sometimes it can just be a night. You haven’t got anywhere stable.
“After a month of no money and literally surviving off whatever you can do, you just sort of think I need to do something with my life, I’m not going to get anywhere it’s all downhill.
“There are some really dodgy people out there, I think the worst was when I was squatting and there were a lot of people taking heroin and crack and things like that. It wasn’t very nice.”
You can read the full report from Depaul on their website: