Bid to combat teenage homelessness

A SERVICE to help prevent young people from becoming homeless has been launched in St Neots. Safe Moves, based at Axiom Housing Association s Paines Mill Foyer building, aims to stop homelessness among 13 to 19-year-olds by helping them work through their

A SERVICE to help prevent young people from becoming homeless has been launched in St Neots.

Safe Moves, based at Axiom Housing Association's Paines Mill Foyer building, aims to stop homelessness among 13 to 19-year-olds by helping them work through their problems.

Set up by Connexions and the Foyer Federation, the scheme will offer young people support and the use of family mediation services, as well as help through drug and alcohol groups and advice on housing and health.

Project worker at Paines Mill Foyer and Safe Moves co-ordinator, Andy Marshall, said: "The main aim is to ensure young people have a stable environment in which to live. Life on the street is not pleasant.

"Safe Moves provides vital services, as it helps youngsters who have run away from home to work through their problems."

Dave Pendle, the Foyer Federation's early intervention co-ordinator, said the launch of the service had been very impressive.

He added: "I was glad to hear the ambition for Safe Moves was to stretch it beyond St Neots and extend it all over Cambridgeshire."

Representatives from the Foyer Federation, Connexions, the Government's Department for Communities and Local Government, local schools, the police and social services attended the launch.

INFORMATION: The Foyer Federation provide accommodation, education and training for thousands of 16 to 25-year-olds at 130 sites in the UK. Paines Mill Foyer was a working mill until 1990. It re-opened in 1996 as affordable accommodation for young people.