No, not children in care. Sometimes it's the 'corporate parent' which tries to wriggle out of its responsibilities.
The very strong laws protecting children mean that much of the work handled by Law Centres' Young People’s Legal Advice Projects should not be needed. Yet these projects provide a vital service to children and teenagers who have been stonewalled elsewhere.
Law Centre advisers take homelessness cases in 24 London boroughs, and deal with education issues across the capital.
We spoke to one lawyer who talks to roughly 200 - 300 teenagers a year who have been refused housing by local authorities. Most of these are aged between 14 and 17 and have been through the care system.
She says: 'The law is very favourable - we have great law, but it's the implementation that's shocking. If I have a 15 or 16 year old and I'm the only person who cares about them, that's wrong'.
Almost 60% of homeless people in London are under 25. Many 16-25 year olds without homes find that homeless persons' units give 'imaginative' reasons to avoid housing them. The London Youth Advice Forum have collected some of these gatekeeping excuses.
These include a young person being refused help because their parents 'didn't give them 28 days notice' before throwing them out. Others may be asked for complex documentation as a way of deterring applications, rather than because it's really necessary. Some, too, report circular arguments such as 'if you're homeless at 16 or 17, you must be intentionally homeless. That means it's your fault, which means we won't help you.'
With their choices misrepresented in mangled legalese, and little idea of their real rights, many young people are driven away to 'sofa surf', sleep on buses - or on the street.
Others eventually find free help from young people's Law Centre services. One says, 'I was homeless for a year and only got housed when I went to the Law Centre and I know plenty of young people who needed advice but haven't gotten it.' Sometimes it takes a very simple intervention to solve a problem. Another teenager says, 'no-one at the homeless person's unit listened to me - I tried loads of times. But when my solicitor wrote a letter, suddenly the problem was solved.'
For over 16s, it all comes down to 'vulnerability'. Local authorities are reluctant to take responsibility for homeless teenagers 'unless they are vulnerable'. But a young person with no support is vulnerable almost by definition. Desperate and on the streets, they risk being sucked into drugs or sex work. They will find it difficult, if not impossible, to continue with education - or to find enough stability to get work.
A landmark House of Lords case in May 2009 suggests that the tide is turning. Based on the case of a 17 year old thrown out by his mother, the ruling said that young people under 18 should be dealt with by children's services and have their health and educational needs taken into account. The judgement should make life much easier for teenagers on the edge.
It's not always homelessness that's the issue - sometimes young people need independent advice about school exclusion or a host of other problems. But it's all dependent on teenagers knowing that the service is there.
The following links give help to find legal advice for young people in London:
Law Centres: an overview of work with young people
Law Centres and homelessness among young people
Or to find out more call Mandy Wilkins, Young People’s Project Manager, Law Centres Federation 0207 428 4419 mandy@lawcentres.org.uk