Emergency Help

If you are over the age of 16 and your parents or carers want you out of the house, try and find somewhere to stay before you leave.

If you are leaving home in a hurry, screenshot our ‘Emergency help’ guide on this page for good suggestions of things to take with you and organisations to contact. Keep the guide safe on your phone and easy to access.

Mediation or counselling might be able to help you talk through and work out problems with your family.

Use our Support Near You tool to find services and organisations who can help you now.

The council should be your first stop. Contact the housing department and ask to make a homelessness application.

The council  should give you advice on your different options and might have to find you emergency housing.  They may also have to help you find a home, or in some situations, help you keep your current home.

It does not matter if you are not actually sleeping on the street – they might still have to help you.

All local councils should have a 24 hours a day service for people who find themselves in emergency situations.

See our page on Going to the council for more help and use our Homelessness Application Guide to help you work out what will happen when you go.

Nightstop schemes are for young people aged 16 to 25 and can provide emergency accommodation for young people in the homes of ordinary people who have volunteered to help. You can usually only stay for one night at a time with each host, where you will get:

• a room to yourself
• the chance to have a bath or shower
• a meal in the evening and breakfast the following morning.

You will probably be asked to go back to the Nightstop scheme each morning, or to the organisation that found you a place through Nightstop where they can help you look for more permanent accommodation or arrange another Nightstop.

You can find out more about Nightstop here. Use the Support Near You tool to find a scheme near you.

You can also call Llamau’s Youth Homeless Helpline to get help with accessing safe temporary accommodation.

If you feel unsafe or in danger at home, it may be best to leave straight away. Try to contact an adviser before you go and arrange some emergency housing in advance.

If someone in your home is being violent or abusive, get help immediately.

If you are in immediate danger, call 999 and ask for the police.

You can also call:

• the free 24-hour Refuge (National Domestic Violence Helpline) on 0808 2000 247
• Childline on 0800 1111.

If you’re under the age of 18, have been in care in the past, or have a disability, social services might have to help you. Click here to find more details.

If you’ve had to move in an emergency and you’ve no money you might be able to get some emergency financial help from the Discretionary Assistance Fund or apply for a budgeting loan from the social fund.

Food banks provide boxes of food to people in need.

Some food banks offer a hot meal when you go to collect your food box

You need a voucher to use a food bank. You then exchange this at the food bank for three days’ worth of food.

You can get food bank vouchers from local charities, doctors’ surgeries, health visitors, social workers, Citizens Advice and other welfare advice centres.

Contact the Trussell Trust to find your nearest food bank.

If you find yourself on the streets, try to stay safe, and get help and advice as soon as you possibly can. See our pages on Sleeping on the streets for details of places that can help you.

If you are a young person you can call the free Youth Homeless Helpline on 0800 328 0292. Advisers and volunteers can help you to find safe temporary accommodation and provide advice on how to keep yourself safe. The helpline is open through the night and over the weekend (5pm-9am Mon–Thurs, 5pm Fri–9am Mon)