World Mental Health day and World Homeless Day 2016

​I was reminded last week of the importance for us all to be just that little bit kinder to one another.  I was attending a Dementia Friends awareness session, aimed at changing people’s perception of this condition and they emphasised how important it is to be kind.  Imagine the scenario for an elderly person, perhaps struggling at the till to find her purse to pay for groceries with a queue behind her.

It could just as easily be a young person with mental health difficulties, struggling with anxiety, wishing they were invisible.  Today we rush around, we are leading busy lives and try to cram as much into a day as we can, always in a hurry; let us all just take a moment and be aware of those who are vulnerable, young and old, and reach out a hand of kindness, not just today but every day.

​The major cause of youth homelessness continues to be a result of the breakdown in family relationships with either parents or step-parents.  Sometimes it is hard to decide which came first; did the mental ill health such as depression or anxiety come first, leading to confrontation and arguments at home or did it come as a result of long term issues at home.  Either way, the number is on the increase and here at BYHP, we work to try to repair broken relationships and keep young people safely housed.  Accommodation does not just act as a roof over someone’s head; it also provides a range of other benefits such as social inclusion, potential for employment and security.  We have a professional team of Counsellors and Family Mediators who support young people and their families, supporting them with accessing mental health services when they most need someone to turn to.

Everyone deserves a safe and stable place to live; being homeless can mean sleeping on the streets, sleeping on other people’s sofas or floors, or staying in places that are unsafe.  It means not knowing where you are going to rest your head from one day to the next, feeling vulnerable and not in control of your own life.  

Statistically (Crisis 2012), at the ages of 16-24, homeless people are at least twice as likely to die as their housed contemporaries with an average life expectancy which doesn’t reach beyond 47.  It is of no surprise to realise that life as a homeless person will create mental disease as life is a continual struggle with no safety net to fall back on and no social network to ask for support; the forgotten and invisible homeless.

If you or someone you know could benefit from BYHP’s help please contact us for more information. 
01295 259 442
2 Chandos Close
Banbury
Oxfordshire
OX16 4TL
counselling@byhp.org.uk