I’m sofa surfing
This page explains what sofa surfing is and how to get help.
What is sofa surfing?
Sofa surfing happens when you have no permanent place to stay. You could be spending a few nights or weeks at different friends and family member’s houses. It doesn’t always mean sleeping on a sofa; it can mean you have no bed or room that is yours and where you are staying is only short-term. Sofa surfing means you are homeless and could result in your situation becoming an emergency.
If you think you are likely to be asked to leave or kicked out within the next 56 days the local council should class you as ‘at risk of homelessness’. You can approach them and ask for help or ask us to help you with this.
271
young people contacted Doorstep for the first time in 2021-2022 to tell us they were worried about their housing.
27%
of those young people told us they were already sofa surfing
How to refer yourself to the homeless prevention service
To receive help in an emergency, or to get access to housing that comes with tenancy support, you need to start with a homeless prevention referral. This form is available on the NEL Council’s website and can be filled in by you, someone helping you or a professional who is referring you on your behalf.
Once the form is submitted, someone from the homeless prevention service will call you back. This could be the same day, within 48 hours or within 5-7 working days, depending on how serious your situation is.
If you already have a referral in place, we cannot refer you again. We will wait to see if you are then referred on to the housing related support framework where you can access our housing and floating support.
