Project Casebook: Sleepin' Safe, Sexin' Safe; Urban Circle; Southend bus concession campaign; The Young Vic's Vocational Training Programme

SLEEPIN' SAFE, SEXIN' SAFE

Aim To give young homeless people information and support on sexual health and relationships

Funding £324,400 over three years from the Big Lottery Fund

Young homeless people in London and Durham are gaining vital information about sex and relationships through a project run by sexual health charity FPA, in partnership with homelessness charity Centrepoint.

Sleepin' Safe, Sexin' Safe has worked with around 400 vulnerable 16- to 25-year-olds since launching in 2008.

They benefit from FPA's AQA accredited Sexwise courses, which cover sexually transmitted infections (STIs), contraception, self-esteem, consent, sexuality, and the law, among other topics.

FPA project officer Michelle McPake, works with small groups across County Durham and the North East, working with Centrepoint and other voluntary organisations. "I've learned to be really flexible," says McPake. "The young people I work with tend to have quite chaotic lives so it's difficult to do weekly sessions. Instead, I try and do half or full days and cover as much as possible."