Are you sofa surfing?
Many young people stay with friends or people they don’t really know because they have no permanent place to live. You might be sleeping on someone’s sofa or floor, moving around from house to house or staying with people who are using or exploiting you. This is called sofa surfing and it is still homelessness.
If you are sofa surfing and think you’ll be asked to leave in the next 56 days, then you are classed as being ‘threatened with homelessness’. You can contact us for help and advice before you have to move out of the place you are currently sleeping in and we can help you in a number of ways:
- Answer questions about being homeless
- Help with worries about leaving home
- Help if you are suffering abuse or harm at home
- Offer advice about mental health, anxiety or depression
- Provide independent advice about housing and homelessness
- Support you to find emergency accommodation
- Advise you on the options available
- Explain what your rights are and what help you might be entitled to
- Provide you with support about housing and see if we can refer you to a supported housing project
- Talk to landlords to help you to get safe accommodation
- Help you to prevent your eviction
- Provide help with communication so that you can talk to your family or friends and build more positive relationships
- Refer you to other agencies like counselling or drug and alcohol projects
- Support you with applying for benefits
- Help you with budgeting
- Give you help if you don’t feel safe, or if someone you know isn’t safe
- Give you help either over the phone or face to face
- Give you help and support for as long as you need it, even if you are over 18
