A charity for young homeless people has launched an urgent appeal for funding.
Blackburn-based Nightsafe need to raise £100,000 in funding to make up the shortfall they face in 2020 as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.
The charity, which has four homes to provide shelter for vulnerable young people aged 16-24, a night shelter and a day shelter, admits it is feeling the impact of the virus – as all their major fundraising events are cancelled and funding streams and grant applications are deferred until next year.
Jan Larkin, CEO, said: “The young people are the heart of everything we do here at Nightsafe – but if we don’t raise £100,000 this year it may mean we are not able to continue to offer these services to those who need it most.
“We are doing our best to reassure these young people that we are there to offer them support at this time of increased need – but we need the support of our community.”
Nightsafe is one of just a handful of charities dedicated to helping young homeless people in Lancashire.
At the moment, Platform 5 – the charity’s day centre – and the night shelter are currently closed for Health and Safety reasons, but hope to open as soon as restrictions allow.
The young people who are staying in the charity’s houses are currently being home schooled to ensure their education isn’t affected, and staff are supporting their mental health and wellbeing.
Jan added: “Like a lot of charities, our fundraising activity has been badly affected with the majority of major events cancelled. This has left us with a huge financial black hole – and we need your help.
“We are unable to accept donated items at the moment so we are in desperate need of money to purchase provisions to keep our young people fed and a roof over the head of as many as we can.
“The need for our services in East Lancashire is great. Many of these young people have nowhere else to go and are in desperate need of financial support. Whether you can donate £5 of £500 we need your help.”
Jan Larkin – Nightsafe CEO Talks about the £100K Appeal
Without the help of our supporters, we wouldn’t be able to do what we do.
Thank you to all our #NightsafeHeroes.
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