If you're under 18 years old
If you are homeless tonight, aged 16 or 17 and have a social worker, please contact them first.
If you don’t have a social worker, please contact one of the Youth Homeless and Housing Officers, or the Safeguarding Hub.
We will talk with you about what is going on for you and concentrate on helping you to find somewhere safe to stay tonight. Once you have somewhere safe to stay, we can look at what help you need to make sure you have a home.
Lisa Williams (Carlisle locality)
Tel: 07825 097991
Email: lisa.williams@cumberland.gov.uk
Helen Walker
Tel: 07825 340628
Email: Helen.walker@cumberland.gov.uk
Safeguarding Hub
Telephone: 0333 240 1727 - (use the same number for out of hours support)
National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS)
Telephone: 0808 808 1001
Contact NYAS on their website
If you're aged between 18 and 24 years old
Support is available for young adults without permanent accommodation.
You don't have to be sleeping on the streets to be classed as homeless, you could be:
- staying with friends or with relatives
- sofa surfing
- staying with your partner’s parents
- squatting
- at risk of violence or abuse at home
Please contact your local Housing Team.
Housing Team
Telephone: 0300 373 3730
One of the first things we need to find out is whether you have anywhere to stay tonight, if you don’t we could look into emergency accommodation and refer you to the Housing Options team, if you agree. If you do have somewhere to stay tonight but you are worried about where you are living or that it might not be for the long-term, we can still offer you support.
You may be referred to supported accommodation and this would mean living in one of the schemes run by Riverside. Supported accommodation is for those young adults who have no other options or places to stay and there may be a waiting list for this. We will work with you to ensure that you have somewhere to live in the longer term and help you develop the skills you need to succeed at living independently.
Some accommodation is not free and we can help you to understand benefits and develop your budgeting skills. We can also help or support you to apply for any benefits you might be entitled to.
You can make a homeless application to the Housing Team, if you are homeless or think you might become homeless within 56 days and we have a legal duty to help you.
We will talk through your circumstances with you and agree on the next steps. What help we can offer and what the next steps will look like is dependent on your personal circumstances
If you are in care or have been in care (care experienced)
If you need help with your housing situation your Personal Adviser should be your first point of contact. If you don’t know if you have a Personal Adviser or haven’t got their contact details, please contact us.
Email: LeavingCareCarlisleandEden@cumbria.gov.uk
Email: LeavingCareAllerdaleandCopeland@cumbria.gov.uk
National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS)
Telephone: 0808 808 1001
Contact NYAS on their website
If you need to be cared for
You will be given the option to become cared for by the local authority. Your social worker will explain more about this to you when you meet and they will answer any questions.
At all times, your Social Worker or Youth Homeless and Housing Officer will make sure you have all the information you need and that your views are recorded and considered. You can also choose to have an independent advocate. An advocate is someone who isn’t employed by us to help you have your say. Your family may be included in your assessments and plan, if it is safe to do so.
What happens after you talk to us
We can talk you through the next steps but if you would rather talk to a teacher or another professional you know and trust, the first step is for them to help you to complete a First Contact Script and they can talk you through your options as part of this.
There are certain processes we need to follow to make sure you are getting the right support; this could include visiting you in your home and talking with your family and friends before making any decisions about where you are going to live.
We are interested in hearing about your story and understanding whether you need any extra support outside of your family and friends. In order to do this, we will need to get to know you better, find out what life is like for you, what you are good at and what you might need support or help with. This will be done by a social worker.