A friend of my daughter's, who I'll call Joe, was kicked out of his home by his mother when he told her he was gay. Lodging very temporarily at our home, he set about finding a place to rent. Too old for education maintenance allowance, Joe applied for housing benefit.
No chance, he was told, because you're studying full-time, and you're therefore ineligible. His tutor said that he could not drop his study hours to the required 17 hours a week to claim housing benefit.
So Joe faced simple and stark choices: chuck his studies and his dream of a career in theatre design, squat, find friends with free living space or try to patch it up with a mum with whom he felt very upset and hurt. In Joe's case, only the first and last were real options. So, with the help of his friends, he crawled back to his mum and begged her to let him back home. She relented and he's now able to complete his college course.
Register Now to Continue Reading
Thank you for visiting Children & Young People Now and making use of our archive of more than 60,000 expert features, topics hubs, case studies and policy updates. Why not register today and enjoy the following great benefits:
What's Included
-
Free access to 4 subscriber-only articles per month
-
Email newsletter providing advice and guidance across the sector
Already have an account? Sign in here
