A SCHEME to ease homelessness among young people will be launched in Hambleton and Richmondshire.

The team behind the pioneering Nightstop project is starting to develop a new scheme working with local communities and concentrating on young people aged 16 to 25 years.

Nightstop provides emergency overnight accommodation for vulnerable young people in the homes of trained volunteers.

The scheme has already been successful in Darlington, York, and Ryedale and the current project co-ordinators will be working closely with those local authorities.

Hambleton and Richmondshire District Councils bid for cash as part of a government initiative to address the issue of homelessness. The councils received £12,500.

Hambleton's head of environmental health and housing Eric Kendall said: "It is recognised that such a scheme will be a great contribution to alleviating homelessness among young people in the district."

Richmondshire head of housing Sara Smith said: "The scheme should make a real contribution to our homeless service, particularly to our work with the young."

Project co-ordinator Carol Robinson said: "This project can really make a difference in the community by giving young people a safe and secure option when they might be faced with nowhere to go."

The Nightstop system of providing emergency accommodation was a community response to youth homelessness.

It has been in existence since 1987 with over 40 schemes now in operation throughout the UK.

The Hambleton and Richmondshire project will be working closely with people running the existing schemes in Darlington and York.

Although work to develop the scheme starts this week, Hambleton and Richmondshire Nightstop will not actually go live until January next year.

Project director John Walker said: "We have to gear up for the scheme by recruiting and training the volunteer hosts and making contact with the other agencies in the area.

"January may seem a long way off but we have quite an extensive training programme and our experience elsewhere indicates that is the right timescale."

Anyone wanting to find out more about the scheme should contact project co-ordinator Carol Robinson on (0870) 240 6921.