Homeless Helpline: Journalist Poppy tells of being just 16 and having nowhere to call home

Journalist Poppy Noor was just 16 years old when she became homeless.

Her relationship with her parents had broken down the point that she felt she no choice but to leave her family home.

After managing to get into a Centrepoint hostel, Poppy, now 26, was able to study for her A Levels and got accepted to Cambridge University.

But even with the support provided by the youth homelessness charity the ordeal was a traumatic one.

“I always knew that I would probably end up moving out because I knew, in the back of my head, that I couldn’t stay there and live a normal life,” she told the Standard.

“Things were just really hard in our house. It was complicated and dangerous.”

“When it actually happened it was so shocking and it was so destabilising that I didn’t really have that much time to think.”

The Independent's Christmas appeal is raising money for a freephone service for people like Poppy, who suddenly find themselves alone and with nowhere to call home.

The homeless helpline will be the first national service for people aged between 16 and 25 facing homelessness or already sleeping rough.

Callers will be able to get advice and support about housing and be linked to services to help them with other issues linked to their homelessness, including mental health, addiction and family breakdown.