Hi there,
Family relationships can be complicated. But everyone under the age of 18 has the right to somewhere safe to stay. And technically, your parents have responsibility for you until youre 18. However, if your parents ask you to leave and youre over 16, you may have to go.
You should seek help immediately if youre ever thrown out of your home while youre under 18. You can talk to one of our counsellors to help get in contact with your local social services and assist you to get the right support.
If someone under 18 can't live at home because their parents or guardians arent willing or able to look after them, a social worker from Childrens services may want to talk to their family about the situation.
If you become homeless under the age of 18, you become a child in need. This means that Childrens services would be responsible for finding you somewhere safe to stay and providing you with enough money to live on.
If you have to leave home in a hurry, its a good idea to think of some essentials to bring with you. This could be things like a warm coat, any prescribed medication that you need, personal items like glasses and any identification like a passport or birth certificate. Other useful things if you have access to them could be a phone with a charger and any money or a bank card if you have one.
I hope some of this helps.
Take care,
Sam
You can talk privately to a counsellor online or call 0800 1111 for free.
You can ask me about anything you want, there's nothing too big or small. I read every single letter but I can only answer a few each week. My replies are published here on my page.
