Support from Suffolk County Council Social Services
If you’re aged 16 or 17, the Suffolk County Council Social Services department can help you. They can give you support and find you somewhere to stay if:
- You can't return home and have nowhere else to live
- You’re staying with friends or another family and have been asked to leave
- Your home is unsafe for you (for example, because you're at risk of violence or abuse)
Please contact them on 0808 800 4005.
Temporary accommodation and assessment
The social worker should find you a temporary place to stay while they work out what help you need. They will check to see if you can return home but can’t force you to go back if you don’t feel safe there.
Contact Ipswich Borough Council's Housing Options Team
You can also apply for housing by contacting Ipswich Borough Council's Housing Options Team. If you do this, we will also refer you to Social Services.
If the council agrees that you qualify for help, it will offer you emergency housing while the children's services department assesses your needs.
Find out more about applying to the council for help when homeless.
Types of housing you may be offered
You may be offered a place in a:
- Foster carer's home
- Hostel
- Shared house with other young people
- Volunteer's home (through a scheme called Nightstop)
You shouldn't be housed in a bed and breakfast unless there's no other housing available.
Accepting offered housing
It is important to accept the housing offered by the council, even if it is not your preferred option. Refusing the accommodation could limit your chances of receiving further assistance.