IF YOU ARE 16 OR 17
...and homeless, you should go to the Customer Advice Centre. They have a duty to look into your situation and may have to find you emergency accommodation while they do this. They will also want to contact your parents to check whether you can return, and will try and sort things out for you to go back home, even if this is for a short time, while you get help planning other housing (such as supported accommodation).
If it is not safe for you to return home you need to tell them why. They cannot contact your parents without permission, but you will need to tell them why you do not want this to happen. However it may be easier if your parent(s) can go down with you, if you and they agree to this.
At Customer Advice Centre you will also meet with the Young Person’s Accommodation Worker from the Pathway Team (Children’s Services) who can offer you support and look at your long-term options.
Castlegate can also talk to you about your options, explain your rights, and help you apply for supported accommodation.
If you are put in temporary accommodation, your support worker or case worker will work with you to plan permanent housing. This will depend on how you get on in temporary accommodation, and what support you need – see emergency accomodation. Permanent housing may be supported accommodation or a Council or Housing Association tenancy.
To be able to get a tenancy you will have to meet regularly with a support worker, and have a financial guarantor. If there is no-one suitable that can do this for you, then ask your support worker, case worker or Castlegate about the financial guarantor scheme run by York Action on Young Homeless, who publish this guide.