Blair & Brown to be Challenged on Homelessness

Prime Minister Tony Blair and Chancellor Gordon Brown will be questioned on the issue of homelessness today, as a small group of citizens from across the country travel to London at the personal invitation of Blair to discuss social matters.

Jenny Ashcroft, programme manager at Bay6, an emergency accommodation project for young people in Leyland, Lancs, is one of those invited to London personally by the Prime Minister.

Ashcroft said: "Following a recent political broadcast I sent a text message to the Labour Party asking about government policy on homeless people. To my surprise I received a phone call last week asking me to come to London to put the question personally to the Prime Minister and Chancellor Gordon Brown!"

A film crew will document her journey and discussions. Five other people from other parts of the UK will join her and fire their own questions at the two most powerful politicians in the country.

Ashcroft has been in youth work since a teenager. She currently works for Bay6 - a project of Christian charity Spurgeons, which works with children and young people. As well as dealing with homeless young people, bureaucracy and the headache of practically maintaining a building, Ashcroft is technically on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

|QUOTE|"That may see me getting out of bed at 3am to drive from my home to the project but it's the buzz of relating to young people that keeps me going," she says. "I'm a manager whose door is never shut."

Bay6 was purpose-built in 2004 and has six rooms with ensuite and small kitchens, plus a communal lounge and larger kitchen. Young people stay for between eight and 16 weeks while they look for somewhere to live.

Support workers help residents talk about their experiences and help with life skills, like budgeting and cooking. Staff encourage residents to think about how they will support themselves through education, training and employment.

Founded in 1867, Spurgeons is a Christian organisation with more than 100 projects in the UK and abroad, helping children and young people in disadvantaged communities, marginalised groups and those suffering as a result of disrupted lives.