You may need help to find somewhere to live because where you are staying is not safe, not suitable or you do not have a legal right to live there. You could be homeless if you are staying with friends temporarily because, for example, you are escaping abuse or other violence. South Staffordshire Council works alongside Staffordshire’s Children’s Services to help prevent homelessness.
If you are 16 or 17 years old, and need to find accommodation upon leaving care, Staffordshire County Council has a legal duty to help you prepare for independent living. Their contact details are:
Staffordshire Looked After Children Service Team
Phone: 01782 296290
Email: leaving.care@staffordshire.gov.uk
Emergency Duty Number: 01785 354030
If you are a homeless 16 or 17 year old, and you are not already known to social care, then you will need to be assessed under the Children’s Act to determine the best options for you. The First Response Team will undertake this assessment, alongside our Housing Team. First Response can be contacted on :
First Response Team - 0800 131 3126
Emergency Duty Services 0845 6042 886
Email: first.r@staffordshire.gov.uk
Children Services can help you by:
- Supporting you to find and keep a place to live (this could be negotiating stays with family members where it is safe to do so, finding a place in supported accommodation, or occasionally, in a children’s home or foster care);
- Supporting you financially by paying to cover your rent, food, bills, travel costs for education training, clothing, pocket money and childcare, if you need it;
- Giving you any other support you need, such as help with continuing education, funding work or dealing with personal problems.
We will assist Children’s Service by providing a housing need assessment. We will determine whether you are homeless or threatened with homelessness and what support you will need to help you find housing. We may ask you questions about your address history, medical conditions, family, and any other support you have in place. If you approach us directly, and we confirm that you are homeless, a referral will be made to Children’s Services on your behalf. This it ensure that the best support is offered to you and to alert the authorities of any potential safeguarding concerns. If you do not want to undertake the assessment alone, you may be able to get support from an advocacy services (details below).
It is important that where you live is safe for you. Therefore, our Housing team will work closely with Children’s Service around helping you find somewhere to live. Our focus will always be to prevent you from becoming homeless.
How we will work with Staffordshire County Council to support homeless 16 and 17 year olds can be found in the Joint Homeless 16 and 17 Year Olds Protocol.
More information on support available can also be found on the Staffordshire Connects Website.
