Hope House

Hope House is for homeless teenagers who need rescuing from the pain, chaos and hopelessness of having no secure place to call home. The Dream I am looking to purchase a 5 bed property in Debden. The house is 465,000 and nearly 95,000 has already been raised towards that amount. . . . . This property will become Hope House. Hope House, will be a safe place for young people who are in need of a home. At Hope House young people be given the opportunity to thrive, gain independence and grow into the young men and women they were created to be. For the dream to become a reality, I need to secure 465,000. Why is there a need for Hope House? In 2016/17, the charity CentrePoint estimated that over 86 000 young people in England were homeless - no family to be a part of and no place they can call home. Social services and housing departments are so overwhelmed that they simply do not have the resources to look after young people who find themselves in a position of need - and unfortunately, there is a national shortage of foster carers for 16-18 year olds. Children in their late teens who end up in care are considered unadoptable. Many young homeless people who are helped by local authorities are placed in unsuitable and often hostile or violent environments where they are left to fend for themselves alone. Without a safe and reliable place to call home and the nurture & care of a committed adult, many young people are at risk of leading a life of addiction, criminality, imprisonment, unemployment, homelessness and sexual exploitation along with the accompanying pain, chaos and hopelessness. Hope House will challenge the assumption that young people are unadoptable and give them a chance to belong to a family. HOPE for their future! Hope House would give each person a front door key, a bedroom of their own, stability and a route to independence - along with guidance and consistent loving support. The potential that can be reached for a young person who is set in a positive and nurturing family community is not to be underestimated. Research shows that for many teenagers, a sense of real connectedness with just one adult in their lives is enough to end their sense of aloneness and stop the cycle of brokenness being passed on to the next generation (Sroufe et al 2009) Why me? The first time a teenager stayed in my spare room was about 15 years ago. A young girl had been sleeping on a bench in Loughton High Road. My then flatmate and I moved her into our flat. I was able to help her find a job and get back on her feet. Since then my home has been used to offer refuge to people in various crisis situations, whether for one night, one week or for the long term. I love providing shelter for people and a place of respite where people can heal, recover and begin to flourish. The vision of Hope House is born out of a need for more rooms to accommodate more people!