New evaluation shows Nightstop emergency housing services prevent youth homelessness and improve health and wellbeing

An evaluation published today of a national network of Nightstop emergency housing services accredited by youth homelessness charity Depaul UK, gives clear evidence of how effectively they are meeting the needs of young homeless people.

Nightstop gives a young homeless person (age 16-25) a place to stay in the home of a local volunteer community host for one night to around three weeks.  The primary aim of Nightstop is to prevent young people from having to sleep rough or stay in unsuitable temporary accommodation.

There are 40 Nightstop services nationwide run by a range of local and national charities.  In 2010 529 hosting households provided accommodation for over 2000 young people for a total of 8,166 nights.

As evidenced by the evaluation, Nightstop prevents homelessness by giving young people somewhere safe to stay.  Almost half of the young people surveyed said that they would have stayed on the streets and another third said they didn't know where they would have gone if Nightstop were not there.

Nightstop can also help young people to make healthier choices. The evaluation's findings reflected existing knowledge about the vulnerability of young homeless people and the impact on psychological health of homelessness.  Of the young people questioned, almost three quarters (13 out of 18) said that they experienced depression, almost half said they experienced anxiety and a sixth said that they self harmed.  

The evaluation showed that when a young person can stay with a host for a few weeks the improvement in their health and wellbeing is significant with some remarkable improvements recorded. One young person was able to stop taking drugs due to the security and support she received at a Nightstop.  Young people interviewed reported that the stability of "home life" and the kindness and support of their hosts for a short period had led to a positive impact on their outlook and wellbeing.  Young people rated how positive they felt about their future as an average of 2.5 out of 5 before their stay with Nightstop and 4 out of 5 after.

Feeling safe and secure can help young people to make positive changes in their lives.  Three quarters of young people questioned said that having a safe place to stay was the biggest benefit of Nightstop.

Commenting on the evaluation of Nightstop services, Paul Marriott, Chief Executive of Depaul UK said, "This evaluation shows how effective Nightstop is, not only as a response to emergency housing for young people but also as an effective intervention to improve health and wellbeing. Nightstop can also put young people in touch with support needed to help them rebuild family relationships - preventing the family breakdown which is the primary cause of youth homelessness.

The recent survey published by Homeless Link detailed the rise in youth homeless and called for an increase in Nightstops.  We wholly support this and are working hard to encourage the development of services.  We also urge Local Authorities to consider Nightstops as the most appropriate emergency housing response for many 16-17 year olds when meeting their duty to provide housing for this age group."

Ailsa McWilliam of Depaul Nightstop UK added, "Nightstop can really help young people to transform their lives.  Depaul UK is grateful for the generosity of Nightstop hosts and is always looking for big-hearted community minded members of the public who are willing to give their spare room to a young person for the night. "

To download Staying Safe an evaluation of Nightstop services go to www.depaulnightstopuk.org/

 If you are interested in becoming Nightstop host please do get in touch with Ailsa on 0207 9391235 or ailsa.mcwilliam@depauluk.org.