Sofa surfing
Tuesday 17 January 2006
When you think about homelessness, you might picture somebody living on the streets, sleeping rough.
That's not the only form of homelessness, however. 'Sofa surfing' is a form of homelessness that affects many homeless young people.
What is it?
People who sofa surf have usually just left home, for whatever reason, and are staying with friends in accommodation that isn't that secure.
They may find themselves sleeping on a sofa in a shared living room for one or two nights before moving on to stay with another friend.
They'll usually have nowhere to put their stuff and will only be able to sleep when the rest of the house isn't using the room they're staying in.
A recent report by homeless charity Crisis claimed that 72 per cent of homeless people had 'sofa surfed' at one time or another.
Calum's story
Calum, 16, left home after a row with his mum and soon found himself staying at a mate's house. He tells us what it was like. "I had to sleep on a camp bed in the dining room of my friend Pete's house. All I had with me was a bag with a few clothes.
Every day I had to get up early and put the bed away so that Pete's family could have their breakfast. Pete's mum was cool with it, but his dad wasn't and kept saying I was going to have to get out, or pay my way in some way.
Most nights, I couldn't sleep for worrying about what I was going to do next."
Carrie's story
"Me and my boyfriend James were kipping on a mate's floor for a while until we got ourselves sorted. He didn't want us around too much because we got under his feet so we ended up sleeping rough for a couple of nights.
We didn't know that we could get help because nobody told us; we just thought we had to work it out by ourselves.
Eventually, a friend's mum was really worried about us and told us to go to our local Connexions advice centre. We did and they put us in touch with the local council.
Because we were 16, they got us somewhere to stay in a B&B and then after a while, they managed to get us a little flat. If you're homeless you need to get help as soon as you can."
Getting help
While sleeping on a mate's sofa may be better than sleeping rough, you still need a more secure place to stay.
If you find yourself sofa surfing with no guaranteed place to stay, you should contact your local council. Most people have a right to advice and help with finding somewhere, and the council won't turn you away without looking into your situation first.
Our related links can help you find organisation that can give more in depth advice and even put you in touch with someone if you need to talk face-to-face.
