John* (22 yo) presented at North East Housing Service (NEHS) with his parents as they were unable to live with him. John has been violent towards his parents and a regular ice and other drugs user. This contributes to his mood swings and this has in return rendered him homeless. He was referred to a rooming house however his mother did not want to see him in that sort of environment and therefore said he could return home. However this arrangement again broke down very quickly. His mother would regularly call NEHS to ask them what they were going to do.

Through BOOST intervention, John was supported for 2.5 months:

• Referral by NEHS in which they had pre-booked an appointment with BOOST when BOOST is co-located at NEHS. Assessment completed at appointment, as was the case plan.
• Referral was made immediately to the Youth Reconciliation Program (YRP) at Hope Street. YRP contacted John’s family within a few days to make a time to meet. BOOST and YRP worked closely together and co case managed. The YRP did some family mediation with the family while BOOST spoke about housing options for someone in John’s situation. The family did not want to see John in a rooming house.
• Referrals were made to Drugs and Alcohol (D & A) support and accommodation services.
• Referral was made to YouthLaw once it was established there were legal matters pending for John.
• Client was offered Northern HYDDI services but declined. BOOST accessed Northern HYDDI’s specialist knowledge in the way of a secondary consultation ongoing. This was around brainstorming referral options and harm minimisation strategies.
• Placed on a waitlist for some D & A accommodation program.

John remained in the family home with some strong boundaries put in place by his parents. However he may be incarcerated due to some criminal activity.

(* Not his real name)