Homeless teen’s complaint about lack of HSE support

A 16-YEAR-OLD who had been availing of HSE out-of-hours/crisis intervention services contacted the ombudsman.

One of her parents had died and the other lived in another jurisdiction. Due to family difficulties she said that it was not viable for her to live with her remaining parent. She initially paid for lodgings with friends.

When this broke down, she moved to live with her 19-year-old sibling, to whom the HSE provided aftercare. After a few months, this placement also broke down and the 16- year-old became homeless, accessing HSE out-of- hours services.