Housing & homelessness advice for 16 and 17 year olds

Help for 16 and 17 year olds

Our ZAP team can offer support and information to young people aged 16 & 17 years old who are experiencing issues with their housing living in Plymouth and surrounding areas.

We believe that the best place for young people to live is with their families; however we understand that sometimes it may not be safe to do so or there may be difficulties at home which make it very hard to live in the family home.

If it is safe for you to remain at home but you need support as a family we can help.

If you cannot return to your family home we will contact members of your extended family or friends to see if you are able to stay with them whilst we seek further support for you.

Help & advice for 16 and 17 year old’s who are homeless or ‘at risk’ of becoming homeless.

If you are from Plymouth & already have a worker (i.e. a social worker).

You need to talk to your worker straight away, call 01752 668000. This is the number for Plymouth City Council’s contact centre, open Mon-Fri from 9.00am-5.00pm, and they can direct you to who you need to speak with. If you need to speak with your worker outside these hours, still use this number and you will be transferred to an automated phone system which will guide you to the correct service.

If you do not have a worker, or are currently homeless or sofa surfing/sleeping rough.

There are services in Plymouth who can provide urgent help and advice:

ZAP at The Zone
Children’s Social Care
Community Connections

The support and possible accommodation that you can expect from these services will vary and will be informed by your identified and individual needs.

The priority will be to support you and to offer options to ensure that you can be settled and to live safely.

It is important to understand that people aged 16 or 17 years old do not normally get given their own tenancy at this stage.

What happens next ?

The first thing we will need to do is to get a better understanding of whether you can return home or whether there is someone else in your family that may be in the position to support you and keep you safe.

A meeting will be held (Joint Housing Assessment) and you will be given the chance to speak openly to a social worker/housing officer who will make an initial assessment of the type of support you may need both now and into the future.

This assessment is important as it informs what happens next and the type of help you get. We know that answering some questions may be difficult but we need this information and we will support you through the process. We will listen to you but we cannot always provide you with exactly what you have asked for.

What does this mean for you ?

The assessment should result in you being accommodated and not left homeless. If accommodated you are likely to be placed in supported accommodation or in a room in a shared house.

If the accommodation is temporary or short term then we will continue working with you to explore longer term options. This may involve other meetings being held with you or about you, but this is purely about ensuring your needs are met.

The assessment could result in you being classified as a ’looked after child’.

Being referred to as a ‘looked after child’ is nothing to worry about, and if this happens then you will have a social worker allocated to you who will explain ‘why’ this has happened and ‘what’ this means for you.

Once the immediate crisis is over and you are in a safe place, then we would look to the future and work with you to create a ‘pathway plan’.

This pathway plan helps us identify:

· the type of support you may need,

· any health needs you might have,

· any employment or education needs that you have,

· what arrangements might be needed to support you in keeping contact with your family if appropriate.

Useful contacts / where to get help.

There are other local and national organisations you can contact to get additional information or support, who can also provide independent advice to you about your rights under law.

Young Devon 01752 691511 info@youngdevon.org

Livewest – Plymouth Foyer 01752 256880

Law Centre Network

Shelter 03301 755 121

Just for Kids Law 020 3174 2279

Citizens Advice Bureau