No young person chooses to be homeless

At the Clock Tower Sanctuary, we provide practical and emotional support to help young people to move from crisis to stability. We are the only drop-in day centre in Brighton & Hove for 16-to-25 year olds who are experiencing homelessness.

We want Brighton and Hove to be a city where young people’s experience of homelessness is rare, brief and non-recurring.

For young people experiencing homelessness in Brighton and Hove, Christmas can be very tough. While some will have access to emergency accommodation, many will be facing the uncertainty of rough sleeping. For these young people in vulnerable situations, the drop-in centre is a safe place, somewhere to escape loneliness and isolation, where there are hot meals, showers and laundry facilities. There’s also advice on benefits, accommodation, budgeting and more, or emergency support in a crisis.

Kurt talks about their experience: “I was 15 when my grandfather died. I missed him so much, and turned to drink and weed to drown out my feelings. In no time, I was taking heavier drugs.

“My relationship with Mum became volatile, so when she decided to move up north, I stayed in Brighton, mostly sofa surfing, but also living on the streets.

“With support from my boss, I started the 12-Step Programme. But recovery was very up and down, made worse by a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2020. I received chemotherapy during the pandemic, and thankfully managed to stay clean, recovering from the cancer.

“The stress of being ill, as well as trauma from my early childhood, drove me back to the drugs. But I’d had enough, and sought help from the Clock Tower Sanctuary.

“It felt like normality – somewhere to have a meal, shower and wash my clothes, as well as receive support with rehab.

“Recovery has not been straightforward. I relapsed over Christmas last year, and felt too ashamed to come to the drop-in centre. But when I finally returned, no one judged. I was shown kindness, and given a proper meal after days of going without.”

With your help, we can keep the doors to our drop-in centre open this December, and give another young person experiencing homelessness, like Kurt, the emergency support they often desperately need. It costs £20,413 a month to make this happen. If you can help, you can donate here: https://www.thects.org.uk/christmas/