Lee's story

Lee left home at 15 after his relationship with his parents broke down and they asked him to leave.  He moved out at and lived in a number of youth hostels for a few months. Lee then met a girlfriend and they moved in together, but after the relationship ended Lee found himself alone again, with no support and nowhere to go.  Lee was once again homeless and he moved into a hostel in Poole, where he stayed for 4 months. This was not a not a happy time for Lee as he was one of the youngest people in the hostel, he felt vulnerable and many of the other people there were violent and agressive.  Lee was forced to move on again, and although he stayed with a friend for a short time, he was soon asked to move on and he ended up sleeping on the streets.  It was then that he was referred to New Forest Nightstop, where he stayed in the home of a local volunteer whilst our trained staff worked with Lee to find a solution to his housing crisis.  He is now in temporary accommodation where he feels comfortable and secure and is being helped to access long term housing and get back into education and gain his GCSE's.

*All images used are of young people Depaul UK has worked with.  The young people pictured are not the subject of the case study stories.