A REDDITCH homelessness charity has called for more volunteer hosts amid rising demand for its services.
Redditch Nightstop said 47 per cent of young people feared homelessness or found themselves with nowhere safe to stay.
The charity is a community-run emergency accommodation service where trained, vetted volunteer hosts offer a safe overnight stay to young people aged between 16 and 25 who have nowhere safe to go.
They are urgently appealing for more local volunteer hosts to open their homes and help ensure no young person is left facing a night on the streets.
A new UK-wide survey, commissioned by youth homelessness charity Depaul UK, which accredits the Nightstop network, found half of 18 to 24-year-olds feared they could be made homeless in the next 12 months, reflecting the growing instability facing young people today.
This also mirrors the national picture, where 118,000 young people aged 16 to 24 approached their local authority for help between April 2023 and March 2024 because they were homeless or at risk.
Meanwhile, 7,718 people were sleeping rough across England in March 2025, and accommodation services have fallen by almost half since 2008.
Stays with Nightstop hosts give young people precious breathing space to resolve family conflict, access benefits, secure longer-term housing and connect with mental health or support services.
But without more volunteer hosts, Nightstop services cannot meet current demand.
Susan Sadler, Redditch Nightstop’s charity manager, said: “We are seeing more young people than ever reaching crisis point and we urgently need more hosts to keep it running.
“Many of the young people we support are fleeing unsafe situations through no fault of their own.
“Nightstop offers immediate safety, but without more local people stepping forward, we simply cannot reach everyone who needs us.”
Visit: redditchnightstop.co.uk for more information.
