Exclusive:
Jennifer Mohammadi described her struggles in temporary accommodation as Keir Starmer faced pressure to end the ‘scandal’ of children abandoned by the care system once they turn 18
Keir Starmer is under pressure to end the scandal of children being abandoned by the care system once they turn 18.
The PM, who has two children, has been warned thousands of kids face spending the Christmas break isolated and alone as the state fails in its responsibility to look after them. One in three young people who leave care become homeless within two years, with many forced to live in appalling conditions in temporary accommodation. Those who have been in care are nine times more likely to face homelessness than their peers.
One young woman told the Mirror that her living situation became so dire that she stopped taking her insulin at Christmas so she would be admitted to hospital. Jennifer Mohammadi, now 27, who has Type 1 diabetes, issued a plea to ministers to end the use of temporary accommodation for vulnerable young people.
Jennifer said she moved around eight different foster placements from the age of 14 before going to university. When it came to moving out of student halls at the end of her first year, she was suddenly homeless.
Her life spiralled as she tried to juggle university work while living in temporary accommodation surrounded by drug users, violence and people shouting throughout the night. She moved from two unsuitable sites – where she was assaulted at one of them – and by her third accommodation, she was at breaking point.
“My locks were broken, so I couldn’t fully lock my accommodation. There were rats in the place,” she said. “Christmas came along, and it was so cold in my accommodation because the heating wasn’t working either, that I put on layers and layers of clothes, just anything that I owned to try and keep warm.
“But it was to a point where I could see my own breath. It was absolutely freezing. And in that situation, I was just like, I don’t want to be here. I would feel safer, and I would have a warm bed, and I would have some proper food, if I just went into hospital. And that’s when I stopped taking my insulin.”
Jennifer went into hospital over Christmas Day and Boxing Day so there was no one in the care leavers’ office to text or call. “I didn’t have anyone to tell that I was in hospital,” she said.
“And at the end of my stay in hospital, I just had to force my swollen feet back into my shoes and put my clothes on and just walk myself back to my temporary accommodation. It didn’t take long before I ended up back in hospital.”
Jennifer said she begged her social worker for help, telling them she couldn’t cope. But she felt like she was just being left to “power through”. She was later moved into permanent accommodation which was completely empty – with no flooring, curtains or furnishings. She was forced to figure out how to pay bills and council tax alone and survived the first few months with a rug, pillow and microwave, while using the local McDonalds’ internet to do her university dissertation.
Jennifer is now due to start a PhD at King’s College London in January where she will study the emotional side of type 1 diabetes and is working with children’s charity, Become, to fight for better rights for other young people leaving care.
Chief executive Katherine Sacks-Jones of the charity, which is working with the Government to improve the lives of care leavers, said the issue was “clearly an early priority” for the Labour government but added: “We need to see funding to match their ambitions”.
“I think even having worked in this for a while, it’s still really shocking the situation that some young people are living in and it’s pretty shameful, frankly, that we are letting young people down in this way,” she told the Mirror. “I think it really is a scandal.” She said nobody would expect their children to be completely independent as soon as they turn 18 and yet society’s most vulnerable kids are left to figure it out on their own.
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Appealing to Mr Starmer, she said: “I think any of us who’ve got children want the best for our children and these are young people for whom the government, for whom the state is assuming responsibility. And that means that we should have the same high expectations for these young people as for our own children.
“So I would say to the Prime Minister that he really needs to do everything he can to ensure that these young people have the best possible start in life.”
A Department for Education spokeswoman said: “Children growing up in our country deserve the best start in life, and it is simply unacceptable that young people have been left to face the intimidating transition out of care alone, without the support they need.
“This Government is committed to doing better by care leavers, which is why we’re introducing new laws that require councils to provide support and accommodation for care leavers up to age 25. We’ve also launched a Care Leavers Ministerial Board – bringing together action around housing, education, health and more – to break down barriers to opportunity for care leavers.”
