CHRIS thought life couldn't get much worse. Living rough on the streets, he began shoplifting simply to be able to eat.

It was then, aged 19, that he turned to heroin to dull the pain and, as he put it, to "take the edge off life".

He quickly developed an addiction that would control him for the next four years.

Chris, not his real name, said: "It started on the streets because taking heroin was the only way I could get my head down. But it became horrible and I was having to steal."

He hit rock bottom after leaving his home in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, after rows with his parents over his recreational drug use.

He experienced the misery and hopelessness of life on the streets and turned to heroin to blank everything out.

He spent months sleeping in shop doorways and multi-storey car parks, drifting in and out of hostels for the homeless and staying with friends around the country.

It was while sleeping rough in the multi-storey car park next to Wilkinsons, in Darlington town centre, that he began talking to other homeless people.

Chris learned he could get food from a soup kitchen in The Basement, at Grange Road Baptist Church, and obtain blankets and tea from the Salvation Army.

It is now a year since he was offered a place in Darlington YMCA Foyer, which offers supported housing to young people, along with meeting their educational and training. needs.

He has joined a methadone programme and now, at the age of 23, has been clean of heroin for two months.

Chris knows he owes the turnaround to the security of having somewhere to live and the care of the staff, as well as the camaraderie of living with people who have shared the same grim experiences.

He said: "I know if I am having any problems that there is always someone I can turn to for advice.

"I have made contact with my parents since being here and I am maintaining a relationship with them."

He has gained a number of training certificates, including basic food and hygiene, first aid and a city and guilds in team-building.

Chris also took part in fundraising and spent time wrapping Christmas presents for sick youngsters.

Now, he wishes to visit schools to offer football coaching and perform plays about the dangers of drug abuse, to educate young people.

He said: "Being on the streets strips you of your self-respect but I have been working very hard since I have been there and I am building it back up."

Team offers glimmer of hope for the homeless

WHEN Darlington YMCA Foyer opened in 1994, it provided accommodation for homeless young people.

Now, staff also attempt to provide long-term solutions to problems such as mental health issues, drug and alcohol addiction and how to secure a job.

Chief executive Ann Bateman said: "We provide training in key skills and our residents have a contract with the Learning and Skills Council. We have a good success rate in trying to motivate people and 70 per cent of those who take up the training leave with a certificate."

Residents also raise funds for causes such as Butterwick Hospice and Children in Need.

The problem of homelessness for the YMCA is getting worse with 910 North-East families having spent Christmas in temporary accommodation, more than any region in the country.

Mrs Bateman said there were far more hidden homeless, sleeping on friends' settees.

"It is because of the increase in divorce rates and the increase in substance abuse, which can break up families. House prices have risen considerably and a lot of council properties have been sold off, so cheap housing is no longer an option, and a lot of young families are now finding themselves in bed and breakfast accommodation," she said.

It costs people on benefit £5 for a room with the other £60 paid from housing benefit.

The charity needs £300,000 a year to meet running costs with a third coming from the Council Tax, £176,000 from Government grants and the remainder from charitable donations.