The Care System: Seen, Heard, and Still Fighting
For many, the care system is something you read about in the news or seen in a documentary. For others, just like me, it is more than a headline – it is a lived reality.
The care system is meant to provide safety, support and a sense of stability for children and young people when home is not a safe place or not possible to be around the people you thought loved you. But for those of us who have grown up in the care system, the experience is often far more complex. Although I had a good experience of care, I know most people who have had it tougher than me.
We Are More Than A Statistic
People in care are often reduced to numbers: the number of children in scary places that are called placements, the percentage who ‘leave care’, and the data on education or housing. But behind every statistic is a REAL person with REAL emotions, REAL challenges, and REAL potential.
§ We are NOT broken
§ We are NOT burdens
§ We ARE human
And most importantly we deserve to be seen as more than just ‘care leavers’.
What The System Gets Right – And Where It Fails
There are people within the care system who care deeply. I have met support workers, foster carers, and social workers who genuinely want to make a REAL difference. But the truth is, the system often struggles to provide consistent, long–term care that truly meets the emotional and developmental needs of children and young people.
Many Experiences Include:
§ Frequent placement moves
§ A lack of stable relationships
§ Disconnection from family, friends and culture
§ Limited emotional support
§ Feeling unheard or dismissed
These things leave lasting impacts that do not disappear when you are eighteen to twenty-five when the support stops fully. For many of us, that is when the REAL struggle begins.
From Survival To Strength
Growing up in the care system for more than a few years has certainly taught me resilience – but it also showed me gaps in a system that too often forgets the human behind the pile of paperwork that is marked down behind the name of the individual. That is one of the reasons I started my business: to create something meaningful, rooted in REAL experience, and aimed at making a difference for others like me.
Through my training, workshops and public speaking, I share what I have lived – because I believe the care experience community needs to be at the table when change is being made or discussed.
We are the experts in our own lives.
What Needs To Change
Here are just a few things the care system needs more of:
§ Consistency in placements and relationships
§ Trauma-informed support that recognises the emotional impact of care
§ Opportunities for children and young people to be heard and shape their own futures
§ Long-term support that does not just STOP when someone ‘ages out’ of care
§ Hope – because too often, care experienced people are told what they cannot do instead of what they can achieve
Moving Forward
Sharing my story is not always easy to tell – but I do it because it matters to society. Because someone out there might read this and feel less alone. Because someone in a position of power might finally listen to us.
And because every child and young person in care deserves a future filled with dignity, love, respect and possibility – not shame or struggle.
If you are working with care-experienced individuals or want to understand more, my training and speaking sessions are available for organisations, professionals and community groups.
