As the nights get longer and the temperature drops, a charity helping young homeless people in Hertfordshire is appealing for more volunteers to offer a place to stay for vulnerable teenagers.

Herts Young Homeless helps young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who are threatened with homelessness or have nowhere else to turn.

Since 2003 the charity has helped hundreds of people find shelter for the night with its ‘Crashpad’ service.

The service is staffed by volunteers who offer up bed spaces in their homes for a single night, or several, and are asked to provide a hot meal for the person staying.

Its aim is to provide a bit of breathing space between the families and prevent young people sleeping on the streets.

Across Stevenage and North Herts there are currently just two people offering bed space.

The charity pays the volunteer £23.73 towards costs for their room and they have 24/7 access to staff at the Crashpad service, in case anything should happen.

Crashpad officer Kylie Henderson said: “Volunteers who offer a bed space for Crashpad can expect to get a lot more in return than you think.

“You are offering a safe place to stay to a vulnerable young person when they are most in need, and just by offering that bed space, you could be preventing homelessness for the young person by allowing their family the breathing space they need to rebuild their relationships.

“Crashpad has received 802 referrals and offered 7,956 bed nights to these young people in the last five years and our volunteers have provided most of these.”

For more information about Crashpad and Herts Young Homeless in general visit www.hyh.org.uk or call 01707 251403.