If you are aged 16 or 17 and being asked to leave the home of family or friends and have nowhere to stay, you should contact Surrey County Council Children’s Services at the earliest opportunity.
Help from us
If you are being asked to leave your current accommodation, we advise you to seek early assistance. We will negotiate and work with you and the person asking you to leave by providing practical ideas to help you work out a solution so you don’t have to leave home immediately. Generally, for people leaving home it is a major decision and requires careful thought and planning.
If you apply to us for housing assistance because you are homeless in these circumstances, we may not necessarily be legally obliged to provide you with any accommodation.
However, we have a duty to assess the circumstances of your homelessness, identify your housing and support needs and work with you to try to prevent your homelessness or support you to find somewhere to live.
We will provide you with a Personal Housing Plan which will explain where we can assist and what you can do to help yourself. This might include actions such as attending appointments with Job Centre Plus or engaging with other organisations.
For us to be legally obliged to provide you with accommodation, we need to be satisfied that you are eligible, homeless, in priority need and that you have not made yourself intentionally homeless.
It is important to be aware that even if we can assist, it is likely that we place you into private sector accommodation.
Leaving home as a young person
When to leave home is a major decision which should not be taken lightly. Although leaving home will give you more freedom, it also means you will have responsibilities that you have probably not had to deal with before.
The best way to leave home is after careful thought and planning. Leaving your parental home at a very young age, especially if you have nowhere to go, should be the very last option that you should consider. You could easily end up homeless.
Explore your options first
When you are ready to leave, you will need to decide the type of housing that will suit you best. A major factor in making this decision will probably be your financial situation.
The cost of running a home is rising all the time. Many people decide to share with others at first as this will mean you can share the rent and bills. Seek advice before you decide and do not rush into anything.
If you are experiencing problems at home
There is help and support available. Try to find someone you trust to talk to, such as friends, extended family (for example an aunt or uncle), or a teacher at your school or college.
If the situation becomes worse, see if there is a place you can go to for a night or two to let everyone cool down. We may be able to speak to your family about the problems. Remember, no matter how bad things may seem, if you leave home without preparation, you may find yourself in an even worse situation.
Feeling unsafe at home?
If you have absolutely no choice and feel that you have to leave home immediately, for example because someone is being violent or abusive towards you, you must seek help right away.
There are a number of agencies who can assist you, including finding you a safe place to go. Some of these are listed below:
- Childline: 0800 1111
- Women’s Aid: 0808 2000 247
- Shelterline: 0808 800 4444