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Cost of living: Sussex charity runs food market for young people

BBC Mapalo BrayBBC
Student Mapalo Bray was facing homelessness at 19 during the pandemic

A charity has warned the increasing cost of living, a drop in universal credit payments and rising rental costs are leaving more young people at risk of becoming homeless.

YMCA DownsLink Group in Sussex said even those with jobs could not always afford to pay for accommodation.

The charity said it had set up a food market for 16 to 25 year olds to ease some of the pressure.

It has also helped some young people to find temporary homes.

Mapalo Bray is a 19-year-old student who grew up in Crawley, but found herself facing homelessness during the pandemic.

"I seriously didn't know if I was going to end up sleeping in the park" she said.

"I was turning up to college with my suitcase and I wasn't able to focus in class because all I could think about was 'I don't have anywhere to go'."

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YMCA DownsLink Group has helped her find temporary accommodation in Horsham, but she said she still struggled to make ends meet.

"I'm actually OK at budgeting but it's hard to make the money stretch."

YMCA food market in Brighton
The food market can provide young people with a weekly shop for £4

The specialist food market is in Brighton.

One of its users Jessica Nattrass said: "£4 a week and you can do a whole weekly shop."

"When you're trying to balance bills and rent, it's just one of those pressures that it takes away."

Rachel Toner of YMCA DownsLink Group said it was becoming impossible for some young people to make ends meet.

Rachel Toner, YMCA DownsLink
Rachel Toner says even with jobs some young people cannot afford to pay for their accommodation

"If there are job opportunities out there they often don't pay enough to live.

"We know the housing allowance in Brighton in particular falls far short of the rental, so even if you have somewhere and you have housing benefit, you're on the back foot immediately.

"We're always going to be here for support and advice, but if we could live in a world where people didn't need to access special food markets, because they could afford shops, it would be a better place."

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