Rachel
I’ve been hosting for just under three years. It’s really good, but it does feel like it’s getting more challenging. I think it’s because the young people have got more complex needs, and perhaps other services are not supporting them as much as they did in the past.
“You see the change and it’s all worth it”
I was aware of the problems that young people face because I used to work in welfare rights advice. I would see young people losing benefits and not being able to access the help they needed.
It’s nice to be a safety net for young people for whom all the other safety nets seem to have fallen through. My prime motivator for getting involved was a need to make a difference, to be that safety net. To be able to offer a stable home a secure environment for them.
It can be really challenging, but then to see a young person progress and develop makes it all worthwhile. It’s a bit like with your own children, you forget the bad times, you forget the stresses. The thing that keeps me going is the tiny little shifts you see. You see the change and it’s all worth it.
The young person we have at the moment is moving into his own property shortly, and to see that is amazing. He’s travelled an enormous distance to get this far.
What keeps me doing this is that you are part of the team. You’re not just on your own, I get support from SASH. I wouldn’t be able to do this without that support. If there is a difficulty or a conflict, they support us and the young person. We couldn’t do it without that.
Without SASH, you can’t begin to imagine what would happen to these young people. Prison, drug and alcohol, dropping out of society, becoming invisible, an underclass…
