 |
| Help: Mohammed Seed, centre, with Edd Graham-Hyde, Laura Holyoake, Phoebe Carter, Natasha Kapp, Emma Lee and Bradley Kelk, organising a youth homeless campaign at the Students Union Opportunities Centre |
A student is leading a campaign to highlight the plight of the city’s young homeless.
Trainee teacher Mohammed Seedat is has been chosen as one of a national corps team leaders with national organisation vIinspired charged with highlighting the issue of homelessness among young people.
Now he’s mobilising other volunteers locally to raise awareness of how and why young people end up on the street and what can be done to help.
Tomorrow the volunteers will be out and about in the city centre taking images for a photo campaign. They hope to have an exhibition in the city, possibly in disused shop premises later in the year.
Mohammed, a teacher training student who is on placement at UCLan, said: “For a number of years I’ve been volunteering and thought I could contribute something back and pass on my experience to empower the youth.”
He stressed the aim is to increase understanding of why young people face homelessness, offer practical help and signpost where help and advice is available.
Mohammed said he had already been heartened by the response of volunteers who have joined his campaign.
He said: “We do need to raise awareness of homelessness. My role is to recruit volunteers and empower them.
“I’m there heading the campaign but making sure the volunteers get something out of it in terms of development, skills and running a successful campaign. I’m there for guidance and support.”
He added: “Homelessness could happen to anyone and that’s the message we’re trying to get across.”
The former Newman College and Christ The King High School student who lives in James Street is a volunteer at the Jamea Mosque Youth Club.
The campaigners will be asking the public to donate food and clothing, as well as Christmas gifts for children in temporary emergency accommodation.
They’ll be able to drop them off at a ground-floor donation point in the UCLan Students’ Union Opportunities Centre on Fylde Road, Preston from 9am to 9pm Monday to Friday from November 19.
From the Lancashire Evening Post
Feel free to comment!
No comments:
Post a Comment