The isolation of homelessness is depicted in Dewi Glyn Jones' work

Simon Glyn, of Gisda, said its workload had increased six-fold since the charity was set up in 1985.

Modern homelessness was not necessarily a figure sleeping in a doorway, he said, but hidden in rural communities.

The charity marked its 21st anniversary with a day-long conference to discuss the issue.

Gisda (Grwp leuenctid Sengl Digartref Arfon, or the Arfon Group for Young Single Homeless) was set up by a group of volunteers who were concerned about the number of homeless young people in the Gwynedd area, and it now employs 35 staff.

I've only been in trouble once in the two years I've been here Sian, 18

Since opening its first hostel in Caernarfon in 1989, it has expanded throughout Gwynedd and now manages a number of projects for single young people, single parents and expectant mothers.

"Statistics gathered in the last three months show that rural communities really suffer," said Mr Glyn.

"The picture of homelessness is someone sleeping in a shop doorway, and whilst this is still found, it's not the true picture of homelessness nowadays."

The project runs a hostel in Caernarfon for young people aged 16-25 who are unable to live at home.

Sian, 18, (she did not want her surname used) who has lived there for eight months, said: "I'd been getting into trouble, acting stupid, been to jail twice, before I came here.

"I couldn't live at home, I do better when I'm not there. I've only been in trouble once in the two years I've been here.

"My mum is very good with me, but it's better I live here," she added.

The loneliness of single parenthood, as seen by Dewi Glyn Jones

With support from the project, she is now hoping to get a flat of her own.

"I'm ready to move on, and I'll keep out of trouble from now on," she said.

Gisda has commissioned photographer Dewi Glyn Jones to produce a series of 10 photographs to capture "modern homelessness".

Mr Jones, who was homeless for six months while at college in Devon, said: "I did what they call sofa surfing, where you move around sleeping in different places".

For the Gisda project, he took "transparency" as his theme.

The work, he said, showed that homeless people in 2006 were just like everyone else, and that they no longer had a different "look".

"Homeless people have become camouflaged and we need to made sure that we as individuals make time to see them," he added.