No longer out in the cold

1:35pm Tuesday 1st April 2008

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Nikki is running away. Family life has become so unbearable for the 18-year-old that leaving her Borehamwood home seems like her only option.

Every day fresh arguments erupt between Nikki (not her real name) and other members of her family. Now her mother and brothers want her to move out as soon as possible.

This is not the first time she has run away. Last year, Nikki and her boyfriend moved in with his sister, but after seven months the couple split up and she was forced to move back home.

Lost, alone, and five months' pregnant, she turned to Herts Young Homeless Group (HYHG), based in Shenley Road, Borehamwood, for help and advice.

The centre provides 16 to 25-year-olds with information on accommodation, education and employment, and often finds them a temporary home.

Nazima Sehir, 37, runs the centre and regularly comes into contact with evicted teenagers, but believes runaways lead particularly difficult lives.

She said: "I have runaways who come from dysfunctional families where physical punishment is the norm. Their parents tend to be unemployed and persistent offenders, suffering from mental health issues and drug and alcohol addictions.

"I don't blame the young people for getting involved in crime because it is what they see at home."

Ms Sehir works with up to 20 homeless clients each month, but Hertfordshire Constabulary had only 20 repeat missing people reported to it in the past year, suggesting many cases go unreported.

Kim Pearce, a police missing persons investigator for the county believes 90 per cent of those who go missing have been in foster care or children's homes.

"They are not happy where they are," she said. "Young people often want to be at home with their families and do not understand why this is not possible. Others get mixed up with the wrong crowd or suffer from peer pressure."

But Kim Harwood, Herts-mere Borough Council's homeless manager, has found many teenagers leave home because they believe they will be entitled to free housing when they turn 16.

Last month, she gave a talk to Year 11 pupils at Hertswood School, in Thrift Farm Lane, Borehamwood, about the help available and the importance of staying in education.

Most pupils believed they would be given a flat and receive unemployment benefits, but, after the presentation, said they would think carefully before leaving home.

Ms Harwood said: "Teenagers do not think of their finances or budgeting. They think the council has a duty to them. These expectations are unrealistic. The teenagers must learn the basics. There are ways of getting independence - they need an education."

HYHG and the council say they are determined to not only provide runaways with accommodation, but also help them adjust to living away from home.

In the Borehamwood area there is only one hostel for young people, and that is open only to women.

Because of this, many of Ms Harwood's clients flatshare with another young person and case workers help them budget their money and advise them on education and employment.

HYHG also liaises with Connexions, an information and advice centre for young people, and can call upon any organisation or authority for help to decide who is responsible for a homeless young person's welfare.

But this, according to the council and HYHG, is not enough. Both have said more needs to be done to educate parents about their responsibilities so teenagers like Nikki are not left out in the cold.

Ms Harwood said: "It is not only about educating children, we need to think about how to reach the parents of the young people."