Being a teenager is tough; the hormones, the heartache, the pressure to fit in. But imagine being a teenager without the parental guidance that most children their age benefit from, who’s about to go and live on their own – that’s another level of pressure entirely.
Young people who have experienced care rely on people and services to support them in setting up secure, independent lives.
At Roar Pursuits CIC we don’t prescribe, we ask care experienced people what they actually need. We pride ourselves on our peer-to-peer, user-led initiatives, including practical life hacks. This is all delivered face-to-face by care experienced mentors, who have been through the system and are therefore best placed to help others embarking on their own path to adulthood.
Everyone working with a care experienced young person – teachers, mentors, care workers – must look out for their long-term wellbeing. Changing how these care leavers look at life and, most importantly, how they look at themselves, will have a huge impact on their future. They need a hand up, not a handout, to help them see that life is full of possibilities, all of which can be achieved with the right kind of independent support.
We have found that care experienced young people need support in a range of ways, including:
- Entering the world of work
- Managing their finances
- Running a household
- Going to university
- Managing their emotional wellbeing
- Feeling like they are a part of their local community
These things might seem simple for someone who grows up with a strong support base, but for these young people, life starts with survival and learning other skills often comes later in life through negative experiences.
All those working with care experienced young people should intervene as early as possible. Support should fill care leavers with hope for the future and help them to feel self-empowered to achieve their aspirations.
That’s why we have supported the Care Leaver Covenant to assist LifeSkills to tailor their Money skills resources, with guidance from our young care leavers, to promote the development of crucial financial capability skills as part of the journey towards independent living.
If you are working with young people who have experienced care, you can explore the adapted content here by selecting ‘care leavers’. Many other LifeSkills lessons are also suitable for use with care leavers to support them in entering the world of work. To explore further, click here and select ‘Skills for the future workplace’.
Roar Pursuits CIC are proud to have supported the Care Leaver Covenant through adapting these resources; offering a new way of thinking to aid care leavers in moving forward successfully. To find out more about the partnership, click here.
