HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE

When You Must Return Home

THE CHALLENGE

They are called "the boomerang generation"-young adults who left home and tried to live on their own but who fell on hard times and had to return home. Has that happened to you? 

Even if you love your dad and mom, moving back home can be difficult.  For example, a young woman named Sarah says:  "Living on my own boosted  by self-confidence because I didn't have to rely on others.  But returning home made me feel like a child again."  A young man name Richard felt similarly.  "I didn't want to go back home," he says, "but I couldn't  support myself.  I felt like a failure. 

If you are in a similar situation, this article can help you get back on your feet.

WHY IT HAPPENS

Money Issues.  Many young people face  a rude awakening when they first encounter the high cost of living.  "Any savings I had were drained trying to support myself," says Richard, quoted earlier. It was similar with Shaina, a young woman who left home at 24 and returned a year and a half later.  "I could have handled my finances better," she admits.   I left home with no money, and I returned home in debt." 

Employment problems.  Loss of a job can upset even the most careful plans for independent living-something that Shaina discovered.  "I graduated from a program in the medical field, and I joined an agency that helped me find work," she says.  "But when I lost the job, I was stuck.  I had been living in a rural area with no further job prospects in my field!" 

Unrealistic expectations.  Some young adults enter the workforce unprepared for what it takes to make a living.  Their work is often more difficult than they had expected.  To their dismay, they discover that  that their much anticipated independence has lost its glamour.  They certainly had not expected adulthood to be so challenging. 

Next time: HELP FOR THE FAMILY/YOUNG PEOPLE -WHAT YOU CAN DO

From the Awake! magazine