Young people face desperate, life-threatening choices at Christmas to find somewhere safe to sleep and to find a safe place to get out of the cold. However, we also wanted to show it’s not just street homelessness but also dangerous home environments that affect young people who come to Centrepoint. We chose Abi’s story to represent this concept. 

Abi became homeless at 18 after her mum passed away. The grief made the already volatile relationship with her dad worse and staying at home became impossible. Quickly she went from sofa surfing to sleeping rough in Manchester at the coldest time of year. 
  
Abi was totally unprepared for the dangerous reality of sleeping rough and had nothing but the clothes on her back to protect her at the coldest time of year.  

But finding support helped Abi change her life, paving the way to a home and starting a family.  Moving into a place of her own was a huge step forward, but it was her support worker Lindsay’s help that ensured Abi became independent. 

Years later, Abi now supports Centrepoint and believes the Centrepoint Helpline (which offers advice to young people at risk of homelessness) will make a real difference.