Being Thrown out of home

Illustration: Joseph Phillips - Cambridge Regional College

It’s 4 o’clock on a Wednesday afternoon in December and you get home to find a bag on the doorstep with some of your things in it.  You pick the bag up and go inside at which point your mum says “Don’t bother coming in because I don’t want you here any more”. You try to go to your room but your mum blocks your way and starts pushing you towards the front door.  You decide all you can do is leave and walk to the end of the road

What do you do next?

• Phone around your friends and arrange for somewhere to go for the night
• Phone 999 and ask the Police for help
• Head into town in the hope of finding somewhere warm to sleep for the night

Read on to find out which of these options you should or shouldn’t take…….

Phone around your friends and arrange for somewhere to go for the night

Before you phone your friends try contacting a family member or relative if you have one that lives nearby. If not, phoning your friends is your next best option as you will have the security of being in a friend’s home and it will give you a breathing space to get things sorted. Often by the next day things have settled down at home and you can go back or at least start talking.  Make sure you phone your parents/careers to say where you are staying

Make sure that the home you are going to is one you know well, is a safe place and an adult you trust is there…… If not, don’t go.

If, after a couple of days, the situation doesn’t improve and it looks like carrying on for some time you need to think about what to do next. At this stage contact your nearest Youth Support Centre and they will give you any help and support you need to either get you back home or find a more permanent solution. You can even contact a Youth Support Centre on the first day if you feel you would like to talk your situation over with someone

If there are any complications like you have been abused, threatened or assaulted or if you need medication which you haven’t got with you, contact one of organisations listed in our ‘Help in an emergency page’

For more information about coping with being homeless and links to organisations that can help see our page on homelessness

Phone 999 and ask the Police for help

If you have nowhere to go, calling the police is a good option as a last resort but first try calling your nearest Youth Support Centre or you can contact a social worker for help by ringing the Cambridgeshire Call Centre on 0345 045 5200 (8am to 8pm Monday to Saturday or out of hours on 01733 234724 at all other times).

However if you are in immediate danger or your health/safety is at risk you should call 999 straight away.

Head into town in the hope of finding somewhere warm to sleep for the night

Never take this option!  You will be placing yourself in danger and all kinds of things could happen to you as a result.  You have always got other options and even if for you calling the Police is a last option it is better than sleeping rough.

A final word…..

This story starts at 4 o’clock in the afternoon, You might not have the luxury of a few hours to sort things out but whatever the time is ACT STRAIGHT AWAY - the longer you leave it the more at risk you will be because it’s harder to get things sorted as nighttime draws near!