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departments and social services, which is important for avoiding a tenancy
break-down later on.

However, young people’s involvement in decisions about their housing
varied considerably between local authorities and even between individual key-
workers (also noted by Broad, 2003). Other young people in difficulty
encountered similar, if not greater, problems in trying to gain the housing they
needed. One such young person (female, aged 18) commented that her local
council asked her to seek accommodation elsewhere because they felt she was
the responsibility of an adjacent local authority. Eventually she found housing by
declaring herself homeless to that local authority. Such young people
commented they lacked an appropriate advocate to speak on their behalf with
the relevant authorities.

Young people in this study with direct experience of using housing
departments rated the service as one of the least helpful they had accessed.
They complained these services were impersonal, not appropriate for the specific
needs of young people, were poor at listening to their wishes, and were prone to
long waiting times. Housing projects were also poorly rated on account of their
shared facilities and inadequate personal space. Therefore, whilst housing
projects could be beneficial for some, it clearly was not the solution for all.

During the interviews, several young people (care leavers and other young
people in difficulty) who had been keen to leave care or home early said that in
retrospect, they would advise other young people to avoid such a move for as
long as possible because of the support they had received whilst in care or at

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