Three weeks ago we received a phone call from our 20 year old grandson declaring he was homeless. We responded by collecting him off the street and bringing him back to our home.
At the age of five he was removed from his mother, her partner and placed in the care of the local authority due to their heroin addiction. After short term placements he was placed in long term foster care with a stable and loving family. At a young age (primary school years) he was diagnosed with autism but remained in mainstream education. His behaviour has always been a challenge but manageable, that is until around his 15th birthday, when a change in social worker caused a rapid decline. The new social worker insisted that he was provided with experiences and freedoms in line with his peers despite displaying a maturity more akin to a 12 to 13 year old boy. Within months his experimenting with tobacco, alcohol, drugs and increased disruptive behaviour severely dented the relationship with his foster parents. In desperation the foster parents sought additional support but the response was to remove him from their care. The following three years are marked by several short term placements, each ending in a forced move. Prior to his 18th birthday his appointed PA helped him to return to his foster parents under a ‘staying put’ arrangement limited to two years with the intention to prepare him for the next stage of independent living. The past two years coincided with the Covid pandemic leading to the cancellation of a college course, lockdown restrictions and isolation from friends and us, his grandparents. His behaviour declined resulting in convictions for assault on police officers and theft, drunkenness, drug abuse, and a mental health breakdown leaving him with very low self-esteem and suicidal thoughts. He cannot deal with the assault on his senses with what is happening to him and is refusing to engage with any of the agencies offering help as he sees himself beyond help.
So here we are, a young man on the autistic spectrum totally unprepared to deal with the baggage he has acquired over his short life with totally unprepared grandparents in their mid-seventies.
Where do we go from here?
