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It is not unusual for young people to wish they could run away or leave home at some point in their lives. So if you are thinking of leaving home you’re not alone. Some young people run away due to trouble with their parents, step parents or whoever cares for them. Their may be parental breakdown, a clash of lifestyles, domestic abuse/violence, sexual abuse or other forms of abuse going on. Their may very well be a good reason why someone wants to run away, and try and keep themselves safe, or it might be an argument which has got well out of hand. But leaving home or running away from home can be a risky business. A lot of people end up sofa surfing for a while, moving from a friends house to friends house staying on their sofa, others end up homeless on the streets without anyone to help. If you ever think of leaving home, you need to make sure you keep yourself safe. You might think you know all the risks and are aware of what can happen, but you don’t know who you might meet or what you might come across. Being homeless puts you in a more vulnerable situation, and some people will pray on that and try to use or exploit you for sex or other things. The best advice that anyone can give, is that if you are thinking of leaving home, you should always speak to someone about it first. Contact the Youth Advice Centre Housing Service (see contact details and downloadable information below) for specialist advice, information and support. They can help you look at all the options, give you practical assistance and advice and help you in your time of need. If you are determined to run away from home, always find out as much information as you can. Where you can go, when you can go, who would be there, what kind of dodgy people or situations you could come across, what you could do, what benefits you’re entitled to and how you could earn money to live. YAC Housing Service Ovest House 58 West Street Brighton Tel: (01273) 828828 e-mail: yachousing@hoveymca.org.uk You can also get information and advice from other places in the city. You can contact City Direct at Bartholomew’s House on Tel: (01273) 293111 for information about housing rights etc, go to the Youth Advice Centre, Young People’s Centre, speak to your Connexions PA, speak to a friend etc. For more information and contact details for these services see the ‘Map of Services’ on this website. If you run away from home but want to get a message to your parents or someone else then you can phone the Message Home service. They can get a message to whoever you want to let them know that you are ok. Tel: 0800 700 740 Other pages on this website can also provide useful information about some of the risks people can face when homeless such as 'Rape & Sexual Assault' and 'Exploitation'. Downloads YAC Housing Service Leaflet: This leaflet gives you information about the different services the Youth Advice Centre Housing Team can offer you in Brighton & Hove. Safety tips for sleeping rough: This download gives you some short and clear advice about keeping safe sleeping rough on the streets. Links www.hoveymca.org.uk/yachousing The Hove YMCA website gives you information about all of it’s services on offer to young people, there are many options that they can support and advise you around. You do not have to face things alone. The Connexions Direct website has a lot of information and advice about becoming homeless. They also have a free phone number you can contact for advice 080 800 13 2 19. The Connexions Sussex website also has a lot of information which can help you about homeless issues and becoming homeless. They can point you in the direction of local services which can help and give you support. www.shelter.org.uk/homelessness Shelter is a Uk charity which fights for people’s housing rights, to get back on their feet and find and keep a home. They campaign for decent housing in the UK and provide a range of information and advice about housing and homelessness. Centrepoint is a UK charity which provides advice and information to young people about homlessness. They can provide a range of accommodation based services, including emergency nightshelters and short stay hostels, specialist projects for care leavers, ex-offenders, young single parents, foyers and supported flats and floating support services. Nightstop is an organisation in the UK which can provide safe emergency accommodation for homeless young people aged 16-25 exclusively in the homes of approved volunteers until appropriate permanent housing is secured. This is a good website which gives you more information about homelessness, how it can happen and what some of the facts are about youth homelessness in the UK. |
