PEER-REVIEWED FINAL EDITED VERSION OF ARTICLE PRIOR TO PUBLICATION

In this study, half of the participants had experienced accommodation
changes that were a result of crisis situations, but they were more likely to
characterise the young people in difficulty (where 67 per cent had experienced a
crisis move) than care leavers (where only 33 per cent had experienced a crisis
move). Biehal et al. (1995, p. 31 & 33) also found nearly two-thirds of care
leavers had made planned moves from care.

Young people in difficulty also had more experience of homelessness than
care leavers. Homelessness was defined in this study as those who had to rely
on friends and family to put them up to prevent them from sleeping rough, as well
as those who had slept rough, and those who had to spend more than a week in
bed and breakfast, or refuge or other emergency accommodation. This
characterised 30 per cent (22) of the care leavers in this study, which is broadly
consistent with the 22 per cent of care leavers who had been homeless at some
point during the 18-24 months period after leaving care, found by Biehal (1995,
p.21). However, 53 per cent of other young people in difficulty had experienced
homelessness.

Without a fixed abode, many young people found themselves in a
downward spiral, unable to maintain educational courses and either seek or
continue with employment. One eighteen-year old man in difficulty offered a clear
example of this. Having been homeless for six months prior to interview, he spent
most of his time at friends’ houses rather than in education, training or
employment, after trying unsuccessfully to gain employment without a permanent
address. Exhausted by his inability to resolve this situation he had taken to

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