A hostel that has offered a lifeline to vulnerable teenage girls in Manchester for more than 50 years has issued an urgent appeal as the pressures of the cost-of-living and housing crisis mount.
Since opening in the 1970s Contact Hostel in Whalley Range, South Manchester has supported over a thousand young girls aged 16-19 at risk of homelessness, but staff say it’s facing higher demand than ever before coupled with soaring running costs.
This year alone the hostel needs to raise more than £220,000 to top up its funding from local authorities and continue to provide its services.
Victoria Thomas, fundraiser at Contact Hostel, says a sharp rise in youth homelessness exacerbated by the cost-of-living and housing crisis is causing a surge of demand.
“We get always get around 60 referrals a year and we only have nine bedrooms here. The speed which girls can move out is also a lot slower, they are here for quite a long time.
“There’s the cost-of-living crisis and the waiting times for social housing is so high that it’s essential that places like this exist to provide safe and secure housing.”
Victoria says that girls bidding for social housing in Manchester are on waiting lists with around 15,000 other applicants and that in the last two years only three girls residing at Contact Hostel have managed to get their own properties.
The hostel has also seen a rise in the number of girls being forced to leave their homes due to overcrowding.
Victoria says: “The girls are often fleeing difficult situations like domestic violence and family abuse in the home or have parents with addiction issues. Those issues are still prevalent, but we are also seeing an increase in girls coming from overcrowded homes. A huge number of girls have lived here because there’s no space for them.
“We’re also seeing a rise in mental health issues among girls from the fall out of the pandemic and girls struggling with online bullying.”
The team at Contact say the cost-of-living crisis has had ‘far-reaching implications’ for the girls that it supports, who they say now face an increased risk of exploitation and grooming as well as financial insecurity and homelessness.
“Many young girls who are already on the edge financially may find it even harder to afford basic necessities like food, clothing and hygiene products,” Victoria says.
Unlike most supported living providers, Contact Hostel has staff on-site 24/7 to offer personalised one-to-one support, advice and guidance. As well as providing shelter, support workers at the hostel teach residents vital life skills to help prepare them for independent living and support them to get into education, training, or employment.
Zara* moved into Contact Hostel aged 17 after being forced to leave her foster placement due to neglect and abuse. Zara who went into care at just five years old and had a troubled childhood began receiving support from the team at Contact Hostel.
While at Contact, Zara was encouraged to finish her A-Levels, which she passed and secured a place at Manchester University. The Contact team helped her to move into halls of residence and bought her everything she needed to start her course.
Victoria says: “We provide everything a parent would. We take the girls out to places like Centre Parcs or Alton Towers and create memories and experiences they wouldn’t get otherwise. The girl’s get a birthday cake on their birthday and celebrate Christmas here. It’s a safe and consistent place for them to call home – everything’s here.”
In a bid to help boost funding and help more girls like Zara, Contact Hostel is appealing for more supporters to raise donations through the easyfundraising website and app where the hostel is a registered cause.
Once supporters have signed up to easyfundraising and chosen Contact Hostel as their cause the retailers they shop with via the easyfundraising website – from M&S to Just Eat- will automatically donate a percentage of their purchase to the hostel without adding any extra expense to their bill.
Victoria says: “We love easyfundraising here at Contact. It’s a super straightforward process for both charities and supporters. We love how people can continuously support a cause without making direct donations.”
To date the Contact Hostel has raised more than £400 in a matter of months through easyfundraising. Support them with every online shop here.
