Hundreds of Children at Risk of Homelessness in One Year

I've been fortunate enough to never have to experience the fear of not knowing where I am going to sleep each night, I had a safe, secure and loving childhood and more importantly somewhere that I could always call home. Unfortunately, today, not every child can say the same.

I've been fortunate enough to never have to experience the fear of not knowing where I am going to sleep each night, I had a safe, secure and loving childhood and more importantly somewhere that I could always call home.

Unfortunately, today, not every child can say the same. Every year nearly 83,000 young people experience homelessness from living in inappropriate and unsafe accommodation to sleeping rough.

Shockingly, we have found that in just one year (January 2015 - December 2015) nearly 550 children under the age of 15 have come to us, individually or with their parents, for help with accommodation problems and homelessness. That's hundreds of children that don't have the security of a home to flourish in.

Our data also found that we have seen an overall increase of the number of children and young people seeking the same support from our services from 1,353 in 2014 to 1,439 in 2015. That's a 6% rise.

These children and young people have come to a point in their young lives where, for numerous reasons, they don't have a loving and safe place, with privacy and links to their community.

At Action for Children we work very hard to prevent homelessness and have crisis intervention services, where a trained member of staff works with a young person or the whole family to identify any needs and address any problems. By giving the help that families need as soon as they need it, means that they can build positive relationships with each other and provide a safer and happier home life and future.

Too many young people are at risk of finding themselves homeless due to relationship breakdown. Action for Children, with the help of some of the UK's top CEOs, is ensuring that a door is always open to them by raising awareness and funds.

Yesterday, I, along with 16 other CEOs and business leaders, braved the cold for one night and slept out in front of the London Stock Exchange at this year's CEO sleepout, to help children and young people.

It was a challenge, none of us doubted that it wouldn't be, but for one night we made a difference to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people all over the UK.

To find out more about CEO Sleepout click here. For information on the range of accommodation services that we offer, click here.

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