A CHARITY boss has praised the work being done to help the homeless in Darlington but says future funding is vital to continue combating the ‘hidden problem’.

Figures presented to Darlington Council’s adult and housing scrutiny committee this morning (Tuesday, December 16) show that in 2013/14 2,065 people approached the authority seeking help out of homelessness.

This is an increase of 264 people on the year before and slightly higher than the 2,018 average over the last five years.

Tracy Freeman is chief executive of the First Stop homeless charity which works with the council on various initiatives to prevent homelessness.

She is positive about the work being done but says there is an ever-present worry over future funding for charities and relevant partners who are vital in assisting that work.

She said: “Is there a problem with homelessness in Darlington?

“Of course it is a problem; we just don’t fall over people in the streets because towns like ours don’t have those people sleeping out in the streets, there is no safety in numbers to do that.

“But what we do have is a large cohort of people sleeping on sofas, or sheds out of the way, or who move from friend to friend night after night.

“That is more our problem in Darlington and those types of situations are a more hidden kind of homelessness.”

According to the council’s figures, the biggest cause of homelessness in the town over the last year was people moving out of a relative or friend’s house.

This affected 171 people, followed by tenancies ending (120 people) and relationship breakdowns (101 people).

Alcohol and drug issues were behind just 17 cases of homelessness in the town in 2013/14.

Ms Freeman said that up to 80 per cent of First Stop’s clients have experienced some sort of childhood trauma in their lives and she called for more understanding of the homeless problem.

“Homelessness just doesn’t discriminate,” she said.

First Stop’s work includes educating youngsters about homelessness, as well as holding drop-in sessions and skills classes to help homeless people build their confidence.

The charity also runs the Bike Stop enterprise on Skinnergate which was opened by the now Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby in February last year.

First Stop is based on Houndgate and is open between 9am to 4.30pm weekdays – except Wednesday which closes early at 3pm – and between 10am and 1pm on Saturdays.