Former homeless people will take homeless youngsters in Bradford under their wings under a befriending scheme.

The Pisces Project, based at the City Centre Project in Little Horton Lane, wants volunteers.

The aim is to help some of the city's most vulnerable young people, by encouraging those who have overcome their problems to pass on the benefit of their experience.

Terry McCann, 24, who hopes to become one of the first volunteers for the new scheme, said: "I have been helped myself by the City Centre Project and have received a lot of support from the people here, so I am hoping I can use the experiences I have been through to help others.

"The staff here are very good, but having been through the experience of being homeless, it gives you an automatic bond with people - they can see you are not just text book knowledge."

Mr McCann arrived at the City Centre Project two years ago, fresh from the casualty unit at Bradford Royal Infirmary, where he was treated for an overdose after he had drunk CD cleaning fluid. He was homeless and had dabbled in drugs, and was "shellshocked and depressed".

With support from staff at the centre, he found emergency accommodation via the charity Nightstop, before transferring to the project's hostel and later to a shared flat. He is now settled and has won a place at Bradford University to study for a degree in psychology and counselling.

Gerry Shevlin, volunteer co-ordinator, said: "Some of our volunteers have had suicidal tendencies, contact with psychiatric services, or have been homeless - they have worked through their problems and come out the other end."

Befrienders would be paired with young people on a one-to-one basis and encouraged to meet them regularly and take them out for activities like ten pin bowling, she said. The scheme would back up the efforts of paid workers at the City Centre Project.

To find out more about the Pisces Project and how you can volunteer, contact Gerry Shevlin on (01274) 736507. Anyone aged 16-25 interested in working with young homeless people can apply.

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