Aunty to run away troubled teen

[Sandy02]

Hello I am an Aunty to a runaway troubled teen - her relationship with her mother is extremely strained and she refuses to live with her, her father has really not been there for her though out her childhood and has recently stepped up to put roof over her head but he has had enough already and doesn’t really want the responsibility of his daughter - he is verbally abusive towards her and is also an alcoholic and drug addict - if I was to step up and take her in (this has not been discussed with her or my sister) I just need to no what I could be getting myself involved with - Please help any advice would be grateful appreciated

[Andrea-RO · Accepted solution]

Hey @Sandy02, I can hear that you're really concerned about your niece, and her safety - both due to her running away and living with her father. It can be really hard to raise a child, especially when they're struggling with their mental health and whether they feel secure enough. I just wanted to ask how old your niece is at the moment? There are definitely some resources out there that might be of use to both you and her, but a lot of them are targeted for young people under the age of 18

[Janine-RO · Accepted solution]

Hi @Sandy02 ,

That sounds like an incredibly difficult situation for you all, and your niece is really lucky that she has someone in her life like you that cares about her. 

It sounds like things were really tough for your niece last night- you say that she refused to go with her mother, was she able to find somewhere safe to sleep last night? Do you know if your sister has engaged with any support services at all? 

One service that might be really helpful for you to give a call is  Family Connect and Support . You can look up who the local provider in your niece's area would be here. It's designed to be a way to connect families to the support services that will best meet their needs. In your family's case, this might mean looking at things like counselling/ support services for your niece, emergency housing or access to a youth refuge if that's needed, to make sure that your niece has somewhere safe to stay, and giving information and support to you about what it might look like if you do decide to see if your niece comes to stay with you.  The service can provide a caseworker for up to 16 weeks, and also help you all to make a plan for the future. 

In the immediate future, the most important thing is to make sure that your niece is safe and has somewhere to live. There's a few services that can help young people at risk of homelessness : 

National

• Centrelink appointments: 13 10 21
• Reconnect (for young people age 12–18)
• Homelessness Australia: (02) 6247 7744

NSW

• Link2home is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 1800 152 152
• A full list of NSW-based accommodation services can be found on the NSW Family & Community Services website

I can completely understand that it would be a really difficult decision about whether or not to step in, and what it would look like for you if you did decide to see if your niece would like to live with you. Hopefully Family Connect would also be able to give you some advice and support around that, I don't want to bombard you with too many links, but I would also be happy to look for some other resources/ support services. 

Thinking of you, it sounds like such a tough situation, and your niece is really lucky to have you in her corner.  

[Andrea-RO · Accepted solution]

Hey @Sandy02, I can hear that you're really concerned about your niece, and her safety - both due to her running away and living with her father. It can be really hard to raise a child, especially when they're struggling with their mental health and whether they feel secure enough. I just wanted to ask how old your niece is at the moment? There are definitely some resources out there that might be of use to both you and her, but a lot of them are targeted for young people under the age of 18

[Sandy02]

My niece is just 15 years old and and the other night she ran from her fathers abusive mouth and was found by her mother at a bus stop at 10 at night with no buses running at that time of night - she was all alone and I live 3 hours away (she refused to go with her mother) - her situation is getting worse - should I step in 😞

[Janine-RO · Accepted solution]

Hi @Sandy02 ,

That sounds like an incredibly difficult situation for you all, and your niece is really lucky that she has someone in her life like you that cares about her. 

It sounds like things were really tough for your niece last night- you say that she refused to go with her mother, was she able to find somewhere safe to sleep last night? Do you know if your sister has engaged with any support services at all? 

One service that might be really helpful for you to give a call is  Family Connect and Support . You can look up who the local provider in your niece's area would be here. It's designed to be a way to connect families to the support services that will best meet their needs. In your family's case, this might mean looking at things like counselling/ support services for your niece, emergency housing or access to a youth refuge if that's needed, to make sure that your niece has somewhere safe to stay, and giving information and support to you about what it might look like if you do decide to see if your niece comes to stay with you.  The service can provide a caseworker for up to 16 weeks, and also help you all to make a plan for the future. 

In the immediate future, the most important thing is to make sure that your niece is safe and has somewhere to live. There's a few services that can help young people at risk of homelessness : 

National

• Centrelink appointments: 13 10 21
• Reconnect (for young people age 12–18)
• Homelessness Australia: (02) 6247 7744

NSW

• Link2home is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week: 1800 152 152
• A full list of NSW-based accommodation services can be found on the NSW Family & Community Services website

I can completely understand that it would be a really difficult decision about whether or not to step in, and what it would look like for you if you did decide to see if your niece would like to live with you. Hopefully Family Connect would also be able to give you some advice and support around that, I don't want to bombard you with too many links, but I would also be happy to look for some other resources/ support services. 

Thinking of you, it sounds like such a tough situation, and your niece is really lucky to have you in her corner.  

[Janine-RO]

Hi @Sandy02 , 

I just thought I'd check in and see how you and your niece are going;  did she end up returning to one of her parent's homes? 

All the best, 

Janine