Chereece

We had a business meeting last night with councillors, and we’ve made a lot of local changes for the [local authority] care leavers. So, we did a scrutiny meeting with the councillors; we managed to get care leavers as a protected characteristic treated as such in [local authority]. We’ve  been doing a lot of speeches to make changes for the care leavers, we’ve just done one in front of 350 people, [local authority] families, social workers and everything, about languages: the use of language within care and how it made us feel.

We’re trying to currently set up training ran by care leavers for PAs which are the leaving care team workers for care leavers, so we’re going to be training them. We’re hoping to try and get the care leaver bus passes raised from 21 to 25. We’re doing loads for care leavers in the local authority and alongside the leaving care team.

It’s given us the opportunity to show other care leavers that their voices will be heard and they can make a difference and things don’t need to stay the change... to stay the same forever – it can get better – but it’s only going to do that by us standing up and saying, “This isn’t right and this needs to change,” and that’s what we’re doing, but it’s because of our local authority giving us these opportunities that we’re able to do that.

Yeah, it was... and I was very lucky in that sense because I did have some good support workers who were very knowledgeable on what I was able to access and what I was entitled to. So, they taught me about the local offer, so things like [organisation] grant, things that I was able to access to support myself. They helped me get furn... you know, the white housing goods for my furniture in the household. They helped me out quite a bit. And it’s because of them being so good at their job, that I do that now for other care leavers, and I tell them what they’re entitled to. But unfortunately, working alongside the PAs and the care leavers, I also see that not everyone... like they’re not all clued up and knowledgeable on what is accessible, which is why I do what I do, because a lot of care leavers just do not know about the local offer and they don’t know certain things that they should know. So, I like to preach that and make sure they’re up to date, because things are always changing, and the entitlements are always getting better thankfully in our local area; it’s not the same for everyone.

It was... and I was very lucky in that sense because I did have some good support workers who were very knowledgeable on what I was able to access and what I was entitled to. So, they taught me about the local offer, so things like [organisation] grant, things that I was able to access to support myself. They helped me get the white housing goods for my furniture in the household. They helped me out quite a bit. And it’s because of them being so good at their job, that I do that now for other care leavers, and I tell them what they’re entitled to. But unfortunately working alongside the PAs and the care leavers, I also see that not everyone... like they’re not all clued up and knowledgeable on what is accessible, which is why I do what I do, because a lot of care leavers just do not know about the local offer and they don’t know certain things that they should know. So, I like to preach that and make sure they’re up to date because things are always changing, and the entitlements are always getting better thankfully in our local area; it’s not the same for everyone.

I ended up moving back to my hometown as I turned 18, back to my local authority, but my leaving care team transitioning from 17 to 18 they managed to help me into a property, so I had a flat in [Town] and they helped me decorate, and stuff like that. They helped me get out of my [Grandmother’s], so that I would have the property. And now, to where I am now, so thankfully I did move back to my hometown because I received more support.

OK so, Mondays I have my little girl and I take her to nursery, I go to work, I pick her up, take her home, do her tea, bath her, put her to bed, have a shower myself, maybe tidy up, go to sleep, wake up. Tuesdays, I get all my meetings in, or I try and go to the gym, I have to do [activity] on a Tuesday, and then I pick my daughter up, the same again. Wednesdays, the same again: work, nursery, home, bath, bed, tea, bath, bed. Thursdays, I get a day with my daughter, but due to my driving coming up I’m trying fit in lessons, but again, getting in more debt with that. But Fridays, again, work, but then he... my baby’s father has her on... over the weekend at the minute because I’m working on a Saturday as well, so he’s having her, and then he has her over the weekend, and then I might go out and see some friends, clean the house, and then back to normal again.

I’ve got my diploma coming up with my internship on the [date] – I need to pass that. I’d like to go into health and social and get my qualification to work in care home. I’d like to join the leaving care team as an intensive support worker, to support care leavers. I’d like to go to Parliament and change the protected characteristics for care leavers legally. I would like to push to become some type of motivational speaker alongside my peers, peer care leavers to make changes nationally for care leavers. And to bring my daughter up to try and be in a happier world, and bring her up to have the independence and strength that I learnt the hard way without having to do any of that.

So, from 17 I had a leaving care team worker as I transitioned from care, child in care to care leaver, and I started to get to know her. She supported me whilst I was out of area, and then she supported me into my house, worked alongside my social worker. She helped me decorate, and she helped me spend my grant on things for the property. She would check in on a weekly basis. I’ve actually got a really good relationship with her. So, I speak to her now even though she’s not a leaving care team worker. I received quite a bit of support from the local leaving care team. To the point where I currently still work with them in a care leaver support forum. 

I do the interviews: we do... In our local authority we have like three care leavers that interview the PAs before they get the job, so we have an input on that. And unfortunately, because they are reaching out for staff so much, but some of the workers that have come are absolutely dreadful. We’ve had them compare themselves to us, and money, and we’ve even had to put them on the spot and be like: “Well, you’re different to us. Have you got your parents?” “Yeah.” “Well, don’t sit there and compare yourself to, your situation to ours then.” It’s... it’s quite upsetting actually. Some of them... yeah, they’re really... they don’t stay in contact with the care leavers – they don’t.

So, my first year was dreadful – my last year also dreadful – but I ended up moving back to my hometown as I turned 18, back to my local authority, had some support from my leaving care team transitioning from 17 to 18 they managed to help me into a property. So, I had a flat in [Town] and they helped me decorate, and stuff like that. They helped me get out of my [Grandmother’s], so that I would have the property. And now, to where I am now, so thankfully I did move back to my hometown because I received more support.

There’s a food pantry in my local authority and care leavers in [local authority] get it for free, because the local authority funds it. It’s like £4.50, and you get like £30 worth of your shopping weekly, so I got that later on, but I think that needs to be accessible for all care leavers everywhere. I think they are expanding, but I think it does need to be accessible for all care leavers.

Oh, why were you able to access it, or did you have...?

Anybody can access it. Although the... you do have to sign up and there is a waiting list. Anyone can access it, whether you’re working, or not, although care leavers, their... their £4.50 weekly is funded by the leaving care team, so they do get it for free.

So, like I said, the ones who are showing that they need the most support, they have to prioritise them, so they do. And I’ve noticed that a lot of... some young people get lost, like they just get forgotten about, or when you hit 21, in our local authority, you can leave the system, but I’ve noticed some of us leave without wanting to. Like I’ve got someone today who said, oh, no, he’s been cut off from the leaving care team even though he didn’t want to. We have a choice, thankfully: up until we’re 25 we can still receive that support, but they... I think it’s a case of if they choose that we don’t need that support, they can cut us off, so it’s not really fair. I feel like the support needs to be till the age 30 to, being honest, because at 25, we all develop at different stages. Some of us are still needing that support at 25 and it’s just not there.

Yeah

Financial support as well.

And I’ve noticed that a lot of... some young people get lost, like they just get forgotten about, or when you hit 21, in our local authority, you can leave the system, but I’ve noticed some of us leave without wanting to. Like I’ve got someone today who said, oh, no, he’s been cut off from the leaving care team even though he didn’t want to. We have a choice, thankfully: up until we’re 25 we can still receive that support, but they... I think it’s a case of if they choose that we don’t need that support, they can cut us off, so it’s not really fair. I feel like the support needs to be till the age 30 To being honest, because at 25, we all develop at different stages. Some of us are still needing that support at 25 and it’s just not there.

Yeah

Financial support as well.

I feel like sometimes the support from the charities that I work with and the leaving care team, sometimes feels like it’s short term just to get you to where you need to be to tick the boxes, so then they can go and prioritise other people who aren’t ticking the boxes, which I understand, because the caseloads, they need to have more PAs who are qualified, emotionally and physically, and not just ticking the boxes, but they need to actually be able to work with the care leavers. We need to have more of that so that we can actually long-term support them till they’re 25, and not just sit in the background till like when you need them when you’re at your worst.

I mean during Covid there was no mummy groups and things like that, so that was really hard, especially as a first-time mum, and going into appointments without anyone else, because I couldn’t have her father there or my support worker there because it was only one person, so that was really difficult. I didn’t find I got any support with that though. And, yeah, it just felt very lonely, there should have been more that was online and stuff. But yeah, what do you do? 
 
Yeah. I mean did it eventually go online or... or anything: what happened there, did... no? 
 
No, not that I was aware of, no. 
 
No? 
 
Nothing was really accessible. 
 
Oh, OK.— 
 
There were home visits, if I did any health visits, they were at home. 

Well, absolutely, long term, yeah, even though it could be a short-term thing for people, and they should have been being more checked on during that time because the isolation does have a massive effect. But I think it’s still long term, and people forget that, and they’re not still talking about it and they’re not still... like, I think the mental health decline has been massive; yeah, it’s still ongoing now. 
 
Yeah. And so do you feel like anything positive has come out of that period? 
 
Not for care leavers, I’ve got to say I don’t see anything positive coming out of that. 
 
Uh-huh, OK. Do you feel like— 
 
A lot of people suffer from more anxiety and stuff. 

Yeah, a lot of people in care want to run away from the system and fight it, and they don’t realise that they can get the most from it. And if you’re willing to work with it, kind of thing, like you can call on your PAs and so you... so care leavers and you might think, ‘oh, they’re just someone else I don’t want to get involved with, but in our loc... we like to call them ‘personal assistants’, we like to utilise them to do what we need them to do – and more – and we like to be... because that’s what they’re paid for, so let’s get them doing what we need them to do, and let’s make the most of a crappy situation because at the end of the day, you can get a hell of a lot more out the situation. I know a lot of people who unfortunately didn’t get that leaving care team support and missed out on the system by an inch, and because of that they suffered; whereas, because we just about made it, now there’s so much that we can access and it’s actually about going out there and searching for it and finding out more because there’s so much out there, you’ve got bikes, laptops and free Wi-Fi – absolutely loads. We get vouchers for food. We had vouchers during Christmas.   
 
We get a budget that supports us for food and local things. We get... there’s loads of things on offer at the minute for care leavers, and if you go out there and find them, or give... like, if you get onto care... local care leaver forums, you’ll find out about everything you can access. There’ll be money there to support you, there’ll be social groups to support you, and there’ll be a bunch of opportunities there; you’ll be glad that you didn’t miss them and that you would have been wanting to get involved in them sooner.