Post by Taxigirl on Nov 26, 2003 10:02:31 GMT
A homeless teenage girl was told to live in a tent by the council because there was no accommodation for her.
Sabrina Strickland, 16, lived in the tent for more than a month after being evicted from a hostel in Newport, Isle of Wight.
The island's social services gave her a £40 voucher to buy the tent in June after she was asked to leave the hostel due to swearing and intimidating behaviour.
The council confirmed it had provided tents for two other teenagers in similar circumstances.
Two weeks ago, BBC South reported on another homeless teenager on the Isle of Wight who was sleeping in a wheelie bin.
Miss Strickland said: "I got kicked out of the hostel, and was advised to go to the Independent Support Project, which is part of social services.
"I'm not a care leaver so I'm not that important to them. In the end they said, well all we can do for you is give you a tent."
Martha Kelly of Centrepoint, a London-based charity that helps young homeless people, said she had never heard of anything like this happening elsewhere.
"It's completely unacceptable, there's no support attached, and for a 16-year-old struggling to become an adult, with the number of issues that involves, this is in no way acceptable," she said.
Glen Garrod, the island's director of social services and housing, said this was a rare response to an unusual set of circumstances and defended the council's actions.
"We can't set aside people's behaviour in how we respond and try to support them," she said.
"It is also worth bearing in mind that she was not without offers of accommodation on the island or on the mainland, or with her family."