A2Dominion helps Oxfordshire's young people 'find their way'
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A2Dominion, a not-for-profit housing provider, is launching a
new scheme to help prevent young people in Oxfordshire from
becoming homeless.
Staff from A2Dominion’s young persons’ service are
looking for youth groups, schools and colleges to sign-up to their
new specially-designed training course.
The course, piloted successfully in early June, will be rolled out
from September and aims to reach out to as many young people as
possible to raise awareness of the problem.
Homeless people living at A2Dominion’s Simon House hostel, in
Paradise Street, Oxford, are to help run the sessions, and will
talk about their experiences of becoming homeless and life without
a roof over their heads.
Simon House resident Nigel Pollard, 20, said: "Before I started
getting housing and support from A2Dominion I was in a bad way,
taking drugs committing crimes and sleeping rough. Since moving-in
to Simon House I feel like my life has turned a corner and that I
have a future again. The staff at Simon House really know what
they're doing, and have helped me to realise that I have lots of
skills and have something positive to offer to society.
“I think that this homelessness awareness project is
brilliant and that if something like it had been available to
me when I was at school then maybe I wouldn't have ended up
homeless."
Pam Vasir, A2Dominion’s Director of Care & Support, said:
“By raising awareness of homelessness, we hope to prevent as
many young people as possible from Oxfordshire becoming homeless in
the future. With some of our Simon House residents sharing their
real life experiences, we believe our training will be very
worthwhile.
"Homelessness prevention is a key area of our work, so we will also
be looking to support any individuals identified as being at
risk.”
Mrs Vasir added: “Most people who come into Simon House would
never have imagined they would end up with nowhere to live, but a
change in an individual’s circumstances, for instance, a
relationship breakdown or losing a job, can have disastrous
results.
“Once someone gets into the cycle of homelessness they can be
exposed to all sorts of risks such as drugs and crime. It’s a
highly risky life situation and that’s why we’re
committed to tackling homelessness through this prevention
awareness programme, which we are aiming mainly at 14 to
20-year-olds.”
As well as the screening of a cutting-edge film exploring the
experiences of homeless people in Oxfordshire, those taking part in
the training will be encouraged to talk about homelessness
stereotypes and take part in ‘value exercises’ to rate
in order of importance various items in their life, from having
shelter owning hair straighteners and computer games.
Anyone interested in finding out more about the training is asked
to contact Reza Khayati on 01865 260524 or Jeremy Hill on 01865
260501.
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