Youth Homelessness 'A Big Problem'

A Hull man who was homeless as a teenager has told Viking FM that he fears more young people could be forced to live on the streets.

24-year-old Christian Wilding became homeless at the age of 17 and resorted to sleeping in derelict houses and shop doorways.

He says it was the most terrifying experience and hopes he never has to go through it again:

"I thought it was the end, I actually thought I was going to die on the streets. One of the people that was actually squatting near me actually passed away because it was too cold for him and I thought that could be me next, I thought that's going to be me next.

"It's like covering your face with a really dark blanket and all you can see is the bad stuff and all you can think about is it getting worse, thinking about how you're going to cope, how you're going to survive. Then winter comes and it snows and you're just getting worse and worse.

"Until I was actually homeless myself, I didn't understand the extent of the problem. I thought it was a small minority of people who were homeless and always thought that it was their own fault because they were doing drugs or weren't worth anything but that's not the case. At the time I didn't think I had anything else and I couldn't see any other option for me."

He told Viking FM that youth homelessness is a growing problem in our region:

"When I was homeless there were another three young people who were homeless and a 14-year-old boy who would walk round the streets and sleep on the streets. I think because of unemployment and changes to benefits, it's just getting harder and harder for us and I think this is going to boost homelessness levels."

It's as events take place across Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire later to raise awareness of homelessness among the young.

'Sleep Easy', organised by YMCA Humber, will see hundreds of people sleeping outdoors tonight.

The project's generated over £100,000 of funds over the last four years.

Jonathan Byrne, Communications Coordinator for YMCA Humber said:

“Each night we support 98 young people through our housing projects and the number of positive stories emanating from those projects continues to grow.

“Sleep Easy has really entered the public conscious and it shows how the lengths the people of the Humber Region will go to, to support those less fortunate than themselves.

“In the last 12 months alone we have had young people who came to YMCA Humber from difficult backgrounds and situations that, with the help of dedicated support staff, have got their lives back on track and have moved onto university, their own independent living and full-time employment.”

Latest figures show that of around 5 thousand homeless households in Yorkshire and the Humber in 2013 - almost 2 thousand were people aged between 16 and 24.

Meanwhile, the number of households found to be homeless increased by 2% from 8,900 in 2011/12 to over 9,056 in 2012/13.