Young people's success stories.

 
Moving on
 
When Niall was about 10 years old his mother remarried and had another child. Niall did not get on with his stepdad and felt excluded from the new family. His stepfather gave his own son all the attention whereas he picked on Niall. He soon fell out with his mum too.
 
'I was always getting kicked out and having to stay at mates' houses,' says Niall. At the age of 13 he was being kicked out of the family home on a regular basis. Social services became aware of Niall's situation and placed him in a children's home. He spent a month there before returning home. But things started to slip into an all-too-familiar pattern of arguments and quarrels and, after a short period of time, Niall was kicked out of the house again. This time social services stepped in and removed him under a care order. He was then placed in a foster home.
 
The foster home was, however, a long way from his hometown and he wasn't able to visit his grandparents - whom he relied on for support and contact with his family. It wasn't long before he was found a new foster family and he was transferred back to his hometown.
 
At the new place he found he was faced with strict rules about what he could and couldn't do. He wasn't allowed any keys and was made to leave the house in the morning, when everyone else left, and only let back in when the family came home again in the evening. No real care was provided for Niall and he didn't receive any support from the new foster family. It was no surprise that he never felt at home there.
 
Niall felt pretty low during his time there and things became even more worrying when he discovered that the family were putting the house up for sale - and hadn't told him.
 
Faced with the prospect of having nowhere to go, Niall was put in touch with Action for Children by social services, who had already told him that they would not be able to offer him anything else. 'It was an emergency, everything was uncertain, he didn't know when the family would leave and when he would have a new place' says Rachel, his key worker. And as Niall says, 'It was really nerve racking - the feeling of not knowing how long you'll be able to spend in one place.'
 
At the last minute Action for Children managed to get Niall into a 'great place to live' sharing a flat nearby and with other people who had been in a similar situation. He was able to find support and guidance from his Action for Children key worker, Rachel, and was taught essential life skills such as cooking and budgeting. 'The support Action for Children has given me has been great. Rachel was always there to offer support and advice. Without her I just don't know what the hell I would have done. It's really helped me to just live.' (Niall goes on to say how social services took ages to do anything. He found that Rachel and the Aftercare team were always there when he needed them and sorted things out for him quickly.)
 
Niall has just recently moved again, with the help of Action for Children, into a flat near his grandparents. This time he is living by himself and really enjoying the independence. As a care leaver Niall gets a grant of £750 from Action for Children in order to furnish his flat. He is working and planning to study with funding from Action for Children. Without it, he says, he would have no chance of getting training or accessing further education. He may even get involved in working at the project, helping young people who are in a similar position as he was to gain independent living skills.