News and entertainment worth sharing – York and North Yorkshire

Young people facing homelessness in York given the chance to shine at Yorkshire country house

by | Business, Charity

Christopher Legard and the team from SASH

Seven young people from York, Scarborough and Bridlington who recently faced homelessness gave guided tours at historic Scampston Hall last week to help them develop their confidence and speaking skills.

They are being supported by the York-based youth homelessness charity SASH (Safe and Sound Homes), which helps 16-25 year olds avoid homelessness across North and East Yorkshire by offering a place to stay in the homes of volunteer hosts.


Jadzia, one of the young people involved, said she had really enjoyed the day:

  • I was nervous at the beginning, but after the first tour I relaxed.

    It has been great to meet so many people who support SASH, a charity which is really important to me and many other young people.

    My favourite bit was telling everyone about the secret door hidden in the library!

A fantastic event

Scampston Hall. Photograph: The Scampston Hall website
Chris Legard, owner of the Scampston Estate near Malton, said: “We at Scampston really admire the work that SASH does with vulnerable young people in the area.

“It was a privilege to be able to open our doors to such an exciting event, particularly one that will help these young people feel more confident and experience new challenges, while at the same time spread greater awareness of SASH’s work.”

SASH currently has around 90 hosts across North and East Yorkshire however urgently needs more. SASH director Peter Robinson said:

  • We are so grateful to Chris for allowing us to host such a fantastic event. It has been an amazing, hugely valuable experience for our young people and a great opportunity for our supporters to meet the young people they help.

    Events like these help us to raise awareness of the work that SASH does and our ongoing need to recruit more volunteer hosts so that we continue to help more young people across the region.

About SASH

SASH is currently being supported by the Four Acre Trust, a charitable trust, who are offering to double donations of £500 or more, up to a maximum of £15,000 until 6 September. The donations must be from new donors, whether an individual, company or charitable Trust in order to qualify for the matched giving.

The charity provides an emergency Nightstop service as well as longer-term Supported Lodgings accommodation of up to two years, all of which is delivered by volunteer hosts who give up a spare room in their homes for the young people to stay.

Last year, SASH helped over 320 young people when they had nowhere else to turn, many of whom were just 16-18.

Hosting with SASH can be flexible around your existing commitments and we provide full training, ongoing support as well as small financial benefits.

To find out more about becoming a volunteer host with SASH you can visit the SASH website or call Adele on 01904 652043.