Covid-19 has been especially devastating for young people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. These vulnerable young people move from place to place, staying on sofas or with strangers, often in unsafe situations.

At least 50% of young people have experienced some form of harm, including sexual, physical and mental abuse, while living in temporary accommodation.

Our services help to offer safe alternatives.

So here's how you can help:

Sleep bedless for 1 night

Donate £5 to Depaul

Nominate 3 friends to #SleepBedless

The money you donate will go towards helping young people all over the country, in many valuable ways:

o£5 could provide PPE for a member of staff working with homeless people across the country.

o£20 could provide books and toys for a young mum to support her baby's development

o£25 could pay for a new set of bed linen for a young person fleeing domestic violence

o£40 could provide games and activities for mental and physical wellbeing

o£50 could provide a young person with a mobile phone and credit to stay connected during lockdown

You will be helping people like Joe:

Joe, 25, was living and working in Barcelona when family illness brought him home to the UK. Struggling to find anywhere to live and trying to pursue his dream of making films and music, Depaul UK helped him find accommodation and supported him to apply for a grant for young musicians.

I've lived on my own since my late teens. I've always been surrounded by a lot of violence, crime and gangs. As a teenager, I felt a lot of pressure from it. I got my own flat when I was 19, through the council, then started studying and working for the college as well. When I was 22 I was living on my own in a council flat, studying film-making and working on my first album.

Joe returned to the UK when his Grandfather became ill with cancer. "My sister had attempted suicide five times and my other sister had just had another kid. My dad has severe mental health issues, severe schizophrenia and depression. And hes an alcoholic, so hes just never really there. I just felt a bit disconnected, so I thought I needed to come back to England".

"I didn't have family I could stay with, I didn't have savings. So I stayed on friends sofas from January until March, before I found Depaul."

"I started using the Nightstop service [Depaul UK's emergency accommodation service, through which young people at risk of homelessness can stay with specially trained, volunteer hosts] and I got a grant for young musicians, but I still couldn't get a place to live because I couldn't get a guarantor. I had the money but couldn't find anywhere to live. Coming from a background surrounded by poverty, there was a lot of things I didn't have. I feel like I'm forever trying to get out of that.

I spoke to a few different homelessness organisations but Depaul UK was the only one that actually did things, not just spoke about it. When no one else would rent to me, I ended up taking a Depaul flat for the summer. It kept me going until I started university. Without that, I don't know what I would have done".

The more people who #SleepBedless and get others involved, the more young people we can help during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.