18 Living alone..how can he better himself

BEAR

Wonder if anyone knows where to help

young lad aged..went off the rails and had to move out. has had a council flat since 17. Was on income support but now Jsa of £56.25 a week with £5 taken out for fines and £5 for a crisis loan.

He has no qualifications and is now trying to sort his life out. Has applied for a place at college. has been told by friends that he can claim IS and therfore HB would stll be paid but the help line told him no as he is over 18

Are there special circumstances where IS can be paid? also as he has no other income or any family to help could he claim any other benefit. He has been trying to get a job but no luck

princessdon

He needs to try an apprenticeship - there are more of them over recent years due to changes in govt funding

That way he gets more money, gets experience and gets qualifications.

sniggings

Housing benefit is based on income not if he gets benefits, so as long as his income from any source is low enough, he can still claim housing benefit.

He will also get grants if he were to go to uni, not sure about college but I would think he would.

This would be a great time for him to start uni or college, he probably has just missed this years start date but he should take this time to get all the details together for the next enrollment date.

Him only getting £55 a week, he could go to uni/college work one day a week and still make £55 in wages, I can't see him being any worse off than now.

Remind him those that starting uni then leaving may stop him from getting help again in the form of grants etc so make sure he's ready for it.

skintmacflint

Not as relevant as above posts. But if your son was interested in something like youth work he could initially apply for a volunteer post in a local youth club. Dependant on your location of course. Many places are desperate for younger people to assist in them.

In ours, which isn't council controlled/owned but has access to council support , once he'd been accepted as a volunteer, he could access free council youth work training courses. The courses and experience can lead onto paid sessional youth work positions and many other avenues.

It's a shame teenagers this age avoid youth facility clubs thinking they're naff or for kids, because they cover up to age 25.

Many offer drop in access to specialist advisors who can access support in education, training, housing support, benefits etc for anyone up to age 25 and also run job clubs.

underling

He should be able to get income support if he is in full time education (12hr or more per week) on the bases that he is estranged from his parents. As long as he stays in education he can claim income support until he’s 21. Once on income support he will qualify for a 16-19 bursary, a minimum of £1200 a year. He will also be able to get housing benefit.
He needs to tell his advisor at the job centre he is going to college full time and give them the start date; they will then be able to move him to income support when his course starts.

SailorSam

I'd give a second vote for doing voluntary work, but don't just limit himself to working with the local youth projects. There are 1001 things out there, when he does get himself a job all of that will look good on his Cv.

paulofessex

Have a look to see if the Princes Trust is running one of their 12 week programs in his area. Well worth doing, great for adding to cv, also if on benefits this can still be claimed. Heres the link

The Prince's Trust is also worth considering should the young person need tools to undertake a college course / training. Heres the link

McKneff

#Good for him, I would second the 'Princes Trust'
I just wanted to wish him well.

My grandson was the same, went off the raiis till he was 18 or so.
He's now a Landscape/hardscape Gardener with is NVQ' It can be done, Good luck to him.

kittykat100

What about joining the armed forces? a great career, they will teach a trade and he is a good age for it to make something of his life instead of relying on the state.

Anny_2

skintmacflint wrote: »

Not as relevant as above posts. But if your son was interested in something like youth work he could initially apply for a volunteer post in a local youth club. Dependant on your location of course. Many places are desperate for younger people to assist in them.

In ours, which isn't council controlled/owned but has access to council support , once he'd been accepted as a volunteer, he could access free council youth work training courses. The courses and experience can lead onto paid sessional youth work positions and many other avenues.

It's a shame teenagers this age avoid youth facility clubs thinking they're naff or for kids, because they cover up to age 25.

Many offer drop in access to specialist advisors who can access support in education, training, housing support, benefits etc for anyone up to age 25 and also run job clubs.

This was the first thing I thought when reading the OP...youth work...I trained quite a few young people when I was a youth worker...back then there was an initiative set up to do just that and I am sure there will be equivalents now, in fact I believe there are now apprenticeship type placements in some youth service provision...and this is one career where 'going off the rails' when young, can often give life experience which can be invaluable for a youth worker, and which can often give them an 'edge'...in a good way, of course.;)

Youth work is a very satisfying career and like skintmacflint says there are numerous opportunities for training and many courses which you can build into a portfolio, and parts of that portfolio can be accredited to the completion of locally recognised and even nationally recognised qualifications, these will give you an higher pay grade in p/time youth work. If the young man then wishes to become a full time youth worker a degree is needed, but these can be accessed, at most, if not all Universities.

You would need to start off voluntarily or could be lucky and get a few paid sessions in the beginning, unless of course you get on to one of the apprenticeships. Progression in the service is good and you can if you wish specialise in one of a variety of types of Youth work, I was eventually a Young Women's Development Worker with the 11-25 yr age group, although I started off doing a few sessions with the 5-11 yr age group.

Not only would the young man be laying the foundations for a well paid and satisfying career but the 'fun' element should never be underestimated, I got to canoe, abseil, rock climb, mountain bike, windsurf, jet ski, ride motorbikes and participate in numerous other activities, often on residentials with the young people and we used these activities for team building, confidence building and to build self-esteem...of course within all that the real youth work also took place.

I can honestly say 'those were the best days of my life'.

Most of the young people I trained are still employed within the Youth Service and several of them are now in management positions with all the benefits that attracts.:)