Community ActionHopefulUK14 Oct 20261 min read

A spare room gives Ava a safe place to start again

After a relationship breakdown left her living in hostels, 22-year-old Ava now has a home where she feels safe, shares meals and has people to talk to.

Beth and Mike Edwards offered her a spare room in York through Safe and Sound Homes, known as SASH. She is the fifth young person they have hosted in four years.

The support includes everyday skills such as budgeting, cooking and preparing for job interviews. Ava has a case worker, and the placement is reviewed every six weeks. SASH says hosts receive training before welcoming anyone, while referrals undergo risk assessments.

AI illustration of Gilbert at a kitchen table with groceries and a household budget notebook, representing practical hosting support. — AI-generated illustration featuring AI Gilbert (Glenn Herriott); not a photograph of the reported event.

Hosting takes patience: the couple have dealt with forgotten keys, late arrivals and loud phone calls. Longer-term placements last from a few months to two years, so they are a supported step towards independence rather than permanent housing.

For Ava, that step has already brought safety, security and friendship. As she told the BBC, “I’m here now… because of what everyone here has done for me.”