We should not have to choose between a safe place to live or a higher education

PA

Imagine, at the age of 18, being forced to choose between having a safe and supportive place to live or a higher education. This is a situation hundreds of young people across Scotland are faced with every year. A situation I was faced with myself a few years ago.

There is a lot that can happen to someone before the age of 18. The lives of children are often as complicated or as chaotic as the lives of their parents, which may lead to long periods of time in care or living with foster families. Even within families that are able to provide consistent love and care, how many of us can say we didn’t sometimes clash with our parents as teenagers? At its worst, arguments like these can make home life dangerous. The leading cause of homelessness in young people is relationship breakdown.

For young people carrying trauma from childhood, or without a stable group of friends or family, the typical path towards higher education isn’t possible. Finding – and staying in – an affordable flat can feel impossible. Most student accommodation isn’t open year-round – where are you meant to go in the summer if ‘home’ is off limits?

There are supportive accommodation options available – run by different organisations across Scotland. The house shares and flats are paid for by housing benefit and often come with support in the form of trained experts, or peer support from volunteers. For those of us healing from difficult childhood experiences it’s a great first step into adulthood. Afterall, we often don’t have the support in the form of family and friends like other young people might.

However – there is a catch. If we decide to go to college or university when living in these supported homes, the housing benefit is withdrawn, and we can no longer live there.

This puts many of us in an impossible position – should we stay in a place where we feel supported and happy and not pursue our dreams, or go back to a potentially abusive home environment so we can get an education?

I had to leave an abusive house. When I left, I struggled and really needed the support to stay in the place I lived. But I want to be a normal young person as well, I want to get somewhere in life. It feels like you’re living life in hard mode – here’s another barrier, here’s another setback. It’s so soul destroying.

Children and young people who have been through traumatic incidents like me are the same people who become homeless statistics. We have to remove the barriers which are stopping us get the education we deserve.