Please sign This petition Ian Duncan Smith to live on £53 a week.

seven-day-weekend

nannytone wrote: »

mp pmr says they cant. but if they are allocated a property, they shouldnt be punished. they are already at a disadvantage to the rest of the population.

no that many 18 year olds are expected to fend for themselves, and care leavers should be no different

What about all the ones that go to Uni??

No-one is saying that care leavers SHOULD be treated any differently, the fact remains they ARE being treated differently!

nannytone_2

kids at uno still have family support though.

mum and dad are at the end of a phone and are available if help is needed... even if its just emptopnal help.
care leavers dont have this.
i cant believe that anyone thinks its ok for an 18 year old to have to start a life with no support

seven-day-weekend

nannytone wrote: »

kids at uno still have family support though.

mum and dad are at the end of a phone and are available if help is needed... even if its just emptopnal help.
care leavers dont have this.
i cant believe that anyone thinks its ok for an 18 year old to have to start a life with no support

But they do have support don't they, they have social workers, and I personally think that sharing a flat and living expenses with others is far better socially and financially for them than living alone in a two-bedroom flat that they can't afford.:(

mazza111

I still can't see why you think it's any cheaper in a shared accommodation than in a social housing property. Ok, they may have less electricity and gas. But higher rent, higher council tax (normally), I would like to see where that is cheaper on the tax payer. Cheaper perhaps for the person in receipt of benefit, but definitely not cheaper on the tax payer.

I had a great relationship with around 95% of my guys who were in care. There were that odd 5% who just didn't want help or advice. And were determined to do things their own way. Unfortunately, most of the support is withdrawn a few months into them having their own homes. Whereas it would be better for it to continue for at least the first year.

They are not treated differently from anyone else, anyone who becomes homeless through no fault of their own would have the same chances as them. You are comparing apples with pears when you compare them to other young adults leaving home, these kids don't have a home. Therefore they are HOMELESS.

Unfortunately a lot of these kids who grow up in care will remain on benefits, but that's not because they are given a property, it's because of the way they have been brought/dragged up. I successfully helped several of them find work. My one lass I keep in touch with has also went through promotions too :T so as you can imagine, I'm rather proud of her. Wish I could contact the others to see what they are doing now. I'm sure several of them have fallen by now, but every success is worth the time and effort that was put into them.

Dunroamin

mazza111 wrote: »

You are comparing apples with pears when you compare them to other young adults leaving home, these kids don't have a home. Therefore they are HOMELESS.

Unfortunately a lot of these kids who grow up in care will remain on benefits, but that's not because they are given a property, it's because of the way they have been brought/dragged up. I successfully helped several of them find work. My one lass I keep in touch with has also went through promotions too :T so as you can imagine, I'm rather proud of her. Wish I could contact the others to see what they are doing now. I'm sure several of them have fallen by now, but every success is worth the time and effort that was put into them.

If they moved into a house/flat share then they wouldn't be homeless.

Care leavers tend to remain on benefits because they don't achieve at school and because social workers adopt policies that encourage them to feel that they are owed a living by society.

If you offer the average 18 year old their own flat and (just about enough) money to live on compared with working and living in a flat share or staying on with foster parents and paying their way out of their JSA, it's hardly surprising that they choose the former. Many girls make the same sort of choices when they decide to have a chld on their own and for the same reasons.

Dunroamin

nannytone wrote: »

care leavers arent the same as other young people though.
most under 25's have families, and homes... if they choose to say at home is a different matter.

a care leaver is forced out at 18

Many care leavers have the option of staying on with their foster parents but this would involve paying their own way our of their benefits and they think they'll have more money by living independently and with fewer restrictions.

mazza111

Dunroamin wrote: »

If they moved into a house/flat share then they wouldn't be homeless.

Care leavers tend to remain on benefits because they don't achieve at school and because social workers adopt policies that encourage them to feel that they are owed a living by society.

If you offer the average 18 year old their own flat and (just about enough) money to live on compared with working and living in a flat share or staying on with foster parents and paying their way out of their JSA, it's hardly surprising that they choose the former. Many girls make the same sort of choices when they decide to have a chld on their own and for the same reasons.

And where do they find these flat shares? They just magically appear do they? No flat shares available in this area at all, they are even less available than one bedroom properties. Unless you talk of a group of them. And yes, many of them are under achievers at school, does that mean we should just forget about them or try to get them improve their lives?

Staying on with foster carers isn't an option for a most of them. They just don't get that option.

Yes many of them make the same mistakes, that's not because they have been allocated a council home, it's because it's the way they've been brought up. Nothing to do with council homes. Those girls who are going to have children young will have them whether they have a council home or not. And actually, of all the girls I worked with, only 3 (out of about 20) went down the route of becoming teenage mums out of care. That says to me that the system is working. It could still work better. Think about another 5 had children in their early 20s, but each of them thought they were in a stable relationship at the time. Which of course is what many of these kids are looking for, a bit of love. So it's easy for them to fall into that trap.

mumps

When my DD finished at uni she found a flat share on Spareroom.com and then another on Rightmove. The first one wasn't great, she didn't know the area and didn't feel safe, she moved about a mile away and is much happier. It is a nice house with a lovely kitchen and bathroom, her rent includes heating, light, council tax, water rate and internet. The kitchen is well equipped and they have two washing machines and two tumble dryers. There rent also includes a cleaner once a week who vacuums the lounge, hall stairs and landing and cleans the two bathrooms and the kitchen. She doesn't do dishes. My daughter would like her own flat but she is working and doing post grad and this way she has more money and no hassle, everything is paid and she had friendly people round her. Next year she might get a flat. She will be 23 when she gets her own place. She was in halls first year at uni and then flat shares.

mysterywoman10

mumps wrote: »

When my DD finished at uni she found a flat share on Spareroom.com and then another on Rightmove. The first one wasn't great, she didn't know the area and didn't feel safe, she moved about a mile away and is much happier. It is a nice house with a lovely kitchen and bathroom, her rent includes heating, light, council tax, water rate and internet. The kitchen is well equipped and they have two washing machines and two tumble dryers. There rent also includes a cleaner once a week who vacuums the lounge, hall stairs and landing and cleans the two bathrooms and the kitchen. She doesn't do dishes. My daughter would like her own flat but she is working and doing post grad and this way she has more money and no hassle, everything is paid and she had friendly people round her. Next year she might get a flat. She will be 23 when she gets her own place. She was in halls first year at uni and then flat shares.

Not sure I understand your point in relation to care leavers and your DD?

She has you doesn't she?

bloolagoon

mysterywoman10 wrote: »

Not sure I understand your point in relation to care leavers and your DD?

She has you doesn't she?

Surely that highlights how much we as a society are letting these young people down. If any of my loved ones wanted to move into a 2 bedroom place I'd raise the roof on affordability, waste and need to have company. Why do we treat them so badly when as you point out, no rational parent would allow their loved ones to move into a 2 bed and be fully supportive.

We should be encouraging them to share a 2 bed with another leaver.

I have vast experience in this area and can say that they are then often targeted by older members of community as a doss house, party house and these vulnerable are taken advantage of and expected to offer overnight to many others, extra bills to accommodate their overnight stays, parties, fridge raiding, the list goes on. I feel sure shared accommodation would resolve part of this.

As a parent and someone who cares for young adults greatly, I would never advocate a 2 bedroom place they cannot afford to keep and also the magnet attraction of a spare place to doss for those who seek advantage.

Why do we treat care leavers so badly, surely we look after their interests more?

Your son is at University (if I have that correct), as a loving parent there is no way in this world, you would want him living in a 2 bedroom home alone and supporting this, so why do this to care leavers?