THE bitter cold and lingering snow of the past week have been solemn reminders of the hardships experienced by people who sleep rough.

Waiting in a bus queue or on a freezing railway station proved hard enough to cope with as public transport struggled to arrive on time.

But what if you had no bed for the night and were forced to find shelter in a shed -- or worse, wander aimlessly to keep warm until it got light?

Help is at hand in the Blackburn area for people aged 16 to 24 who find themselves without a home or anyone to care for them.

The Nightsafe charity was launched in December, 1990, and over the past decade has provided a bed at its night shelter in Bridge Street, Blackburn, for more than 4,000 young people who had nowhere else to go.

The house can accommodate up to five people, who stay in the emergency shelter for up to three nights. Resettlement manager Linda Sharratt then works with them in a bid to make sure they do not return to the streets when their three nights are up.

Not surprisingly, the shelter is full most of the time and over Christmas and the New Year there were four or five young people sleeping there each night.

But Nightsafe manager Paula Kaniuk said: "Because we tend to deal with mainly local young people, the time of year doesn't make any difference. Summer is as busy."

Paula applied to the Gannett Foundation, a charity run by the Lancashire Evening Telegraph's American parent company to benefit community organisations, for a £5,000 grant.

The money was needed to refurbish Nightsafe's hostel in Preston Old Road, Blackburn, where some young people move to from the shelter and start to rebuild their lives.

Her application was successful and the money will be used to completely redecorate the hostel and buy new carpets and bedroom furniture.

Paula said: "It has been operational for eight years and when it opened everything was new.

"Since then we have had many 16 and 17-year-olds in and at the best of times they are boisterous, so everything is worn out.

"We are going to try and get the young people involved in stripping the walls -- and getting the bedrooms cleaned out"

The Nationwide Foundation provided the charity with money for a new kitchen and BAE Systems has also helped support the venture.

But the charity is not just about providing a roof and a bed. It offers educational support, helps with mental health problems and can work with young people to teach basic skills to lead them back into more formal training.

The charity's Fusebox day centre in Jubilee Street allows the young people to meet, socialise and take part in training and leisure activities to help build their confidence.

Paula said: "A lot of young people we work with are not ready to go into training. They have a lot of issues in their lives and often have no skills at all."

Nightsafe works with a range of different organisations, including social services and housing associations, to help young people move on from hostel life and into their own accommodation.

The Woodvale Project in Darwen is a 16-flat property for young people who have enough skills to be able to live semi-independently before ultimately being able to move on to independent living.

Paula said: "These young people don't have a lot of fun in their lives. Most of them appreciate that they want somebody to care for them. Sometimes it is hard because it's almost like we are their mothers.

"You have to try and make them responsible for themselves. You are not doing them any favours if you make them dependent on you."

Nightsafe has a number of volunteers who help support the charity, including the Community Service Volunteers organisation.

Currently there are young people from Finland, Korea, Germany and Turkey, as well as others from across Britain, working in Blackburn with the young people and acting as role models.

The charity is now looking for volunteers to work overnight at the shelter (from 5pm-10am) and anyone who can help should contact Linda Sharratt on 01254 587687.

lAnnabel Walker, 24, has worked for Nightsafe for 10 months and provides a link between the young people and more formal training and education.

Two teenage girls, Amy Hunt and Jamie Ingham, are benefiting from the charity's help and looking to the future.

The girls, both 17, found themselves homeless after domestic problems at home but are now in hostels in Blackburn and feeling more positive.

Amy said: "I am a lot happier than I was three months ago. I'm learning life skills and would like to go to college and study hairdressing or child care."

Jamie said: "Nightsafe has helped me. I hope to get a daytime job, study for GCSEs at night and go into advocacy."