Care leavers’ transitions to independence

So yeah, did a bit of moving around and sort of constant like, you know, family breakdowns and all that fun stuff. But when I was about 15, 14, I went back to live in the family home, and then essentially it just wasn’t safe for me anymore. So, I just intentionally made myself homeless, to which the social workers... like I ended up living in like random people’s attics and doing... just living in random places, essentially, until I got... Basically, there’s this really, really lovely old lady and she lived in a really nice house, pretty much a mansion, but she used to foster kids. But now she was kind of just leaving rooms up for kids that need it. So, I just rented a room through children’s social care, a bit like a shared kitchen area and all that stuff.

And I basically told this woman everything that happened. So, she was like, “I really think you should move in sooner,” so I was like, “Yeah, do you know what, like I’ll make an exception this time because I like the situation.” So, I packed all my stuff and I moved in with her on the Wednesday. And then my boyfriend, who I’d been with for five years at the time, erm I’m still with him now, his mum and dad helped me move in, and his mum basically stopped and said to this woman and was like, “Look, like she has been through this, that, and the other, like this last year’s been really hard with what’s happened, can... can we just like... are you... are you like, if... are you actually like genuine about what you’re saying?” and she was like, “I promise I am gonna treat her like my own daughter, like she is basically my own daughter now she moved in.” So, then she got taken back, so she was like, she basically turned round to my boyfriend and said like, “That’s just a bit weird, like, ’cause she’s met her this week and she’s saying that she’s like her own daughter.” But I was... I loved it because I was like, ‘well, no one’s ever called me that before, like I’ve lived with them for months and they’ve never called me that, so it’s nice, maybe she wants what I want for once, like somebody wants what I want.’ So anyway, as the months went by it started breaking down because of my mental health, which she knew.

The local authority still was very insistent that they were gonna evict me and make me homeless, and instructed the placement provider to change the locks when I’m out. So, I barricaded myself in and did not leave and said, “I’m not gonna leave. I’ve got nowhere else to go. This is supposed to be my birthday, it’s supposed to be a day where I’m supposed to be enjoying, I’m 18, I’m finally an adult. I feel like I’ve got autonomy and freedom and that... and that you’ve thrown this bombshell on me. You’ve done no work with me up until this point to find alternative accommodation, and you remembered the day before, when I... I turn 18 that, ‘oh, yeah, you know, this is what you need to do.’”

That’s really interesting you ask that because I don’t know the reason to this day. I requested my records, and even then the reason’s not really clearly documented in there. I was led to believe at the time it was due to finances and the local authority being under pressure. When I read my subject access request as well, there’s nothing really clear to identify any reason, so I do feel like it was just because of funding… where it was cheaper. And when I went to... the provider in other cities and they were the same provider, it was semi-independent accommodation, and I remember asking him and saying, “Do you know why I’ve moved?” and things like that, I was... I was flying where I was, and he said to me, “Ah, basically the local authority will use wherever they think’s appropriate, but also they are on budgets, they’ve got to like try and find accommodation that’s gonna be able to...” and stuff like that.

So, for me, since being in the... this like accessible property with the housing charity, I was only in that property unfortunately for a year, as then I got served with a section 21 no‑fault eviction notice, so it was still fairly traumatic, and of course I was going into the crucial stages of education. I’m now in my final year of study overall, so it was still extremely traumatic, and it’s led to my situation now. So, I got served with a section 21, so that led to me becoming homeless, but then because I was homeless, the council had a duty to obviously house me in circumstances, because I’m disabled. So, I basically went from the housing charity, they literally served me with that and said, “Bye-bye,” literally overnight, no, like, communication, no nothing. Basically from the second property, and from leaving the housing charity, things didn’t go so well for me, things weren’t great, communication was terrible, and to be honest, it was a situation where that housing charity was run off their feet with how many people they’re working with, but then also it’s a situation where they couldn’t provide me with what they knew I needed, so they obviously didn’t wanna say that to me, but that’s basically how it was, so they ended up... the council basically contacted the housing charity to say, “We need properties back, do you have any?” and they chose my property to be given back, so I got served with a eviction note, and then from then I went to a hotel, and then from then I went to another housing charity, and then from the housing charity, then I went on the council register, and now I’m basically in temporary housing with the council. So basically, from the housing charity to now, I moved four times on four separate occasions, still within [County], but dozens of different locations. Like one was 10 months long, one was a year, literally one was one week, so it was just moving from place, to place, to place. Now I’m settled for now, but of course because I’m now officially with the council, I could be moved... I could be moved at any point to maybe my forever home, or it could be more temporary housing.

So, now I don’t know why they said that they want me to get out of the house, ’cause they say that the landlord wants it, which doesn’t make sense. ’cause then I asked, I said they are having a problem with me, so they say that the landlord wants it, and I said, “I can’t do anything about it ’cause it’s not my house,” but still. I take care of that house very good, like no young person cannot take that huge house on his own. I’m 100 precent sure ’cause I have friends and when I see them, they can’t... maybe they can clean their home, or at least you can find some things that they cannot see, or, I don’t know how to say it, but.

Yeah. It’s not actually dust, but I’m not saying that I’m purely clean, but compared to the others, yes, I’m very clean. Even I mentioned it to my PA, the manager of my council and everyone, so... They even come and check my house every two months, so when they come and check it, they know it. Even the organisation that takes care of me, they give me a compliment every time. Like, I cook, I clean, I take care of myself, like hygiene, everything, with my clothes, everything, I’m good with it, they know it. But now, they took me out of that house, where I’m comfortable, and they put me into another house, maybe, let’s say, four months ago, something like that. And then now, since I moved to that house, my life became miserable, really miserable, because, one: it’s not clean, it seems like a dumpster, a damp place, it’s a damp place, ’cause the smell you can’t go through. Even the house is not clean. I share it with one person and he’s from some part of Asia. But still, it’s not clean, I mean, yeah, I don’t know how he lives in that place, and there is a way different smell in that house, still now, even now, when I’m talking about it, huh, I can sense it.

So, they took me out of that clean, pure house, where I can breathe fresh air, to the house that, even if I open the window, I’m smelling damp.

Yeah, but the first time when I came here, like I started with a different one, like with a small college and was two, three months because I was new. Every school was full as well, that’s why. But in September last year, I change it. I will continue with them this year as well.

Oh, OK, OK. So, you’ve changed it like a little bit, but...

Yeah.

Is that in the same area?

No.

No?

No.

OK. Have you moved... have you... they moved you like quite far away or...?

Yeah, it’s quite far away

Oh, OK, OK.

Yeah.

And so, was that... who decided to move you? Was it the... the local authority?

Yeah, the local authority because of my age, I was under 18, and now I’m 18, that’s why.

So, after they told me everything, I went home and I received a WhatsApp letter, a picture of a letter on WhatsApp that says I have to leave the property I was staying in, in two days. So, the date they gave me was you have to move out on the 27th. That was two days, in two days. So, I had no choice.

I went to refugee council. They couldn't believe what they saw, couldn’t believe… they said, ‘this can't happen’. You won't be able to find anywhere to stay in two days. So, I had to move out when the two days came. After two days, I had to move out. So for about a week, I was homeless. I didn't have anywhere else to stay.

And then a charity and the refugee council was helping me by finding a temporary place to stay. So, I was staying here and there wherever they find me. But because of the cold, when I was sleeping rough, I had… my knee has swollen because whenever it's cold, it swells. And I have explained to them about this, that I had a problem on my knee whenever it's cold, it swells. I had to go to hospital because of that.

I was put in a foster family for two weeks. I was an asylum seeker at the time, and I didn’t really have documents proving my identity or my age. So, the [City 1] local council decided that since I did not have anything to prove my age, I was not a child, so they got me a ticket to [City 2] from [City 1] and said, “You need to go to [City 2], go to the Home Office and seek asylum from there, not from here,” so I had to leave. I was on my own and I was new to the country, that was like... and that was... yeah... So, I ended up going to the Home Office to seek asylum and it was a whole process. They had to do a lot of things, like get in touch with the [City 1] Council asking them: it’s not been proved that... what her age is, it’s all we’ve got is what she says, but you’ve sent her here alone, ’cause that’s not right. The [City 1] Council didn’t really care about it much. So, that was a really horrifying experience. But yeah, once I got to [City 2], I decided to seek asylum from there. I was put in a hotel with an adult for eight months, so I stayed in [City 2] for eight months. I got a solicitor in the meantime and he was dealing with my age dispute, like getting in contact with [City 1] Council, and stuff. And after eight months, they finally managed to get my birth certificate from back home, and yeah, that’s how they proved I was indeed a child and decided to take me back to [City 1].

And were you able to see the place before you moved into it or...?

Yeah, but after I saw it, they wanted to... me to move in, in like a week, which was really soon in my opinion. Especially as I’m autistic, I need more time for big changes.

Oh, OK. So maybe they could have been more accommodating by telling you earlier so you can kinda prepare yourself?

Yeah.

I see, OK. So, they left... they, sort of, showed you the place you’re going to move to, left about a week or so before they moved you into there, so what happened after that?

So, I moved to a semi-independent placement and I hated it. I found it really hard living there. The staff were pretty much useless, like they... they didn’t do anything to help me at all. They wouldn’t talk to me. They wouldn’t say hello to me a lot of the time, so I just had to just learn to do everything by myself, and I found it really hard, but eventually I did it.

OK. And you’ve moved since then or...?

Yeah, I stayed there for, like, a year and a half, two years maybe, and then I moved to a flat which was owned by the same company so, like, I had a support worker come into my flat, and I was there for about a year, and since I moved into just like a council flat.

I went to study at university, so I kind of left home, but I was still set up on like the Staying Put, that kind of scheme. Then did a year at university, didn’t like it, didn’t like where I was, outside of [County], came back home, took full-time employment while still living at home, Staying Put. Yeah, took full-time employment, then Covid hit, so then I was still employed for... on furlough for about... oh, I think it was about six months or something. Then later on in the 2020, I decided to do what I... carry on my... what I kind of earned in my first year at university, I could carry that over to another university, which allowed me to join on to a second year, on the course, if that makes sense? And then continued my last two years down in [County] at a local university, while still employed.

So, with the Staying Put programme, did you feel like that was a good move for the local authority to have you be a part of?

Yes, a hundred percent in terms of, yeah, how it worked for me, it was great, I had tonnes of support. I know down in [County], we lack foster parents, so to allow a young person to stay put is quite uncommon. A lot of time they go down the supported accommodation route, which is difficult for them because it’s quite traumatic and you feel like you’ve got... Speaking to people I know quite well, you feel like the rug’s been swept from underneath your feet and your life’s been just turned upside down. So yeah, it’s a difficult one.

The year because I had this scholarship from uni which gave me the accommodation for free for the full, like, 52 weeks. I got into a little bit of trouble at uni because I made friends with the wrong sort of people, and ended up losing the scholarship. But by the time I’d lost the scholarship, the carers had said that they weren’t willing to have me as... like, because uni were going to kick me out, so obviously I needed somewhere to live back home, and the carers turned round and said, “Well, we only agreed to Staying Put, we didn’t agree to full-time,” so I then had to move again. I then spoke with uni and it was like: “What if I sort myself out, can I come back?” Kind of thing, and they said to me basically that they would agree for me to come back on the condition that I wasn’t allowed to live in student accommodation.