ONLY a few months ago, 18-year-old Kerry Kent and 16-year-old Cat Farmer were facing an uncertain future.

Pregnant Kerry, who had already moved out of her aunt's house, had to move out of her supported lodgings because there would not have been room for her baby.

Cat, who was only just old enough to leave school, had decided she could no longer live with her parents and had also left home.

However, both teenagers are now positive about their futures after they were given a new home through the Stonham Supported Lodgings scheme.

Under the scheme, Stonham, a housing and support charity, trains and supports residents to take in vulnerable youngsters, mainly aged between 16 and 21, who are homeless for a variety of reasons.

The programme aims to provide the youngsters with a secure, stable environment where they can learn how to take care of themselves when they move out, and to get them into further education, training or employment.

Kerry and Cat have been given a new start by Shellan Nickolson - and Stonham needs more residents like her to join the scheme and provide homes for young people.

Shellan, who signed up earlier this year after she saw the scheme advertised in The Gazette, said: "I wanted to do something that was worthwhile and that I enjoyed doing. It's not easy - there's ups and downs, but then you get that with a family anyway.

"The fact that the girls are not my family doesn't make a difference. I think we are a family."

Kerry, who gave birth to baby Mia in June, said: "This has made things a lot easier, because I would have been completely on my own. Being here, if I don't know something, I can just ask."

Cat, who joined the household in May, said: "In my old house, I would go in and out as I pleased. I would stay out overnight and no-one would care really.

"But here, they actually want to know where I am and what I am doing."

Both teenagers are now planning to go to college - something they admit they would not have considered before.

Kerry added: "If I hadn't been here, I wouldn't have had the chance to go to college. This gives young people a chance to turn their life around."

For more information about the Stonham Supported Lodgings scheme, contact Penny Diver on 01256 347146 or 07725 958288, or e-mail penny.diver@homegroup.org.uk