Referral procedure

To make a referral you will need to find the copy of The Bradford Nightstop Referral Procedures in your workplace.

On the front page are two telephone numbers one 01274 776888 is our office number the other is our Confidential referral line number.

Please ring this number to make a referral. You will need to listen carefully to the recorded message as it tells you the times a referral can be made during that day.

We aim to have our referral line open between 11.30am and 9pm Monday to Saturday but sometimes we cannot cover every shift due to the commitments of our volunteers.

How it works:

1. A young person presents themselves as homeless at an agency (eg Samaritans, Any Youth service provision especially a Youth cafe The information shop for young people, Key House Project, Bradford City Centre Project, a West Yorkshire Police Help Desk) or an agency identifies that a Young Person can not return to their previous accommodation.
2. The agency calls Bradford Nightstop's confidential referral line, which gives them information on volunteers available to take their calls.
3. The agency worker completes an initial risk assessment with the young person after exhausting all other options of housing for that night. (This may include family or extended family and direct access hostels.)
4. The agency calls the Telephone Contact Person (TCP) on duty, and together with the young person, completes the referral form.
5. TCP will advise the agency of available beds for that night and will call them back once they have checked with an available host.
6. TCP and host discuss relevant information and the host will make a decision as to whether young person will be accepted into their home.
7. TCP calls the agency and, if the young person is accepted, will give the agency details of when the young person can arrive at the Host's home and how to get there. The agency will be given a telephone number to give to the young person but the host address should not usually be disclosed to the young person at this stage.
8. If a young person is 16 to 21 or 16 to 25 and particularly vulnerable they can be advised to go to wait at one of the Youth Cafes. If the young person goes to a Youth Cafe we may use a volunteer driver to take the young person to the host.
9. We offer a taxi to young people who are staying at a late bed or if a Host lives away from a bus route. We will also provide taxis for vulnerable young people.
10. In the morning, the office will call the host and discuss how the Nightstop went.The office will also ring the referring agency to say how the stay went and to find out the longer term plans for the young person.

Word Documents

Further Reading