Friday 7 August 2009

An Empty Chair


An Empty Chair.
Yes you were expected.
This chair is a “one size fits all” so No-one is excluded.
Sit a while, rest your legs – No charge.

Look around and take in the sight – No charge.

Try not to think; try to dream – No charge.

Time is all we have; make good use of it,
and that’s right – No charge.

You do not need to be anyone special to use this chair – but of course, you are special.

An empty chair in a home may denote someone missing.

How many homeless young people are there in the UK?
In a year, 75,000 young people had to seek help from services because they were homeless. That means 1 in 100 young people in the UK experienced homelessness.
What are the effects of homelessness?

Homeless young people have poorer mental and physical health than other young people. They are more likely to have alcohol and drug problems. Many homeless young people are not in education, employment or training
because they are homeless.
Who is homeless?

According to the Government: • 19% of young people accepted as homeless by local authorities are aged 16—18 • 31% are aged 19 or 20
• 50% are 21 to 25 Young people from minority ethnic backgrounds are more likely to be homeless — especially in London.
Why are young people becoming homeless?

The main cause of homelessness in the UK is family breakdown, usually between young people and their parents or step-parents.
Many homeless young people have experienced long-term conflict in the home, often involving violence.

Statistics from the Centrepoint homeless poster 2009.
.

4 comments:

J Pearson said...

Decided to put this empty chair outside our town project today. There is a cafe a little to the left where folk pay to sit (and drink tea).
The text is on a card for anyone to read - or just sit..

awareness said...

I'm glad you followed through on your idea. Wouldn't it be great to leave a guest book beside it for people to jot down their thoughts as they sat in the chair?

Marja said...

I am honoured to take place in your empty chair. I stopped blogging but not really I am discovering exciting blogs. I am so sad about the homeless young lost people I worked with A few of them ( they were smart and nice) only missed somebody who loved them. I see that happening here in NZ more and more because of the high stress in this time of more people working full time to pay for cellphones computers and 4 wheel drives to name a few. Love gets a second place. It is not the only reason but an important one.
I could go one for a while but would only vent and I just want to say I liked your post
Aroha from Nz

J Pearson said...

Marja - thanks for stopping by and your comments. The initial idea was really just to say; it's ok to just sit for a while. The homeless bit came after.
Feel free to use the chair anytime.