“We work with young people with very complex needs, from families that are often very disadvantaged. Each child comes to us with a very specific set of needs, which we work with them on. Success for us is when we can make life better for a child who is struggling.

 “For young people going through difficulties at home, the experience has only been intensified by the lockdown. It has magnified a lot of the cracks that already existed within the family structure. For that reason, even during lockdown, we have been working hard to continue to do a lot of safe respite care and overnight stays for them - they really help ease the tension and pressure many of the young people are facing. And there's a huge need to be able to continue to provide that service at this time.

“One young person we worked with was forced to leave his family home by his mother. His father was able to look after him, but was living in a homeless B&B. We were able to support them as they lived together in the B&B providing a huge amount of overnight respite relief. Now the two of them have been able to leave homeless accommodation and find somewhere to live together, which is amazing. For the young person this has been transformational, his friendships, his attitude to school, his mental and physical health, have all just flourished now.

With the help of the Hardship Appeal and every donation made we can carry on making that kind of a difference to young people’s lives.”

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For details on the programme, visit www.extern.org/janus-programme