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"Have you suffered any domestic violence?" the housing officer asked, his head down towards the desk. "No" my client replied. "Are you pregnant?" he asked. "No".

He carried on ticking the multi-choice questionnaire, obviously used several times a day. "So why are you here?" "My father has told me that I have to leave as his wife has just had a baby and there is no room for me," my client replied, obviously uncomfortable with talking to a stranger about her situation.

The housing officer then told my client that her father could not ask her to simply leave. I began explaining to him (with her permission) that this was not her father and that her parents had both passed away. Her step-mother had been physically abusive towards the children and had refused to let my client into the house on numerous occasions and so the police had been involved.

The officer re-opened the form and began to scribble down something. He said there would be an investigation and someone would be in touch.

It is true that many of my clients find talking to other professionals about their personal lives very difficult. This is why I sometimes attend interviews like this to advocate on their behalf. It is also true that my clients blame the person who interviewed them, for not getting the service they want. It would be easy for me to agree but really I feel that most professionals working to help young people do so because they genuinely care.

What I have come to realise is that situations like this occur because each professional has their own function. Social workers, youth offending team workers, housing officers, counsellors… all have their own rules and thresholds. Until Connexions was created young people were often passed from pillar to post, with different professionals dealing with them in respect of different areas in their lives. There was a lack of co-ordination and data-sharing.

As Connexions is a universal service, I am able to take a referral for any young person who wants a personal adviser. Having this unique role gives all young people the chance to get advice and guidance on any issue affecting their lives, no matter how big or small. It also helps young people to access the specialist services they need to.

This was the case with my client who after two weeks of investigations, was identified as "at risk" and housed by her local authority.