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Recognising and supporting care leavers

Recognising and supporting care leavers

It's been Greater Manchester Care Leavers Week (#GMCLW), celebrating the talents and achievements of care leavers.

Saeed Atcha is a care leaver from Bolton who was in and out of care from being a baby.

Saeed:

Saeed’s message to those who are care experienced is: “I want to let you know that there is a place for you in a world where you might not think there is. We need more people like you in positions like mine. You’ve got real life experience and that’s what the world needs.”

How we're supporting young people leaving care:

This week (starting Monday 2 November), our Community Investment Team teamed up with Bolton Council (https://www.bolton.gov.uk) to provide packs for care leavers in Bolton, giving them supplies of face masks and hand gel. It’s a bit of extra help at this time, but supporting care leavers is important to us all year round.

In June, Bolton at Home, Arcon Housing Association (https://www.arcon.org.uk) and the other 25 Greater Manchester Housing Providers (https://gmhousing.co.uk) pledged to improve opportunities for hundreds of young people leaving care every year, alongside the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham.

We’ll offer quality and stable housing to care leavers, as well as employment and skills opportunities plus peer mentoring.

Jon Lord, our Chief Executive and Chair of Greater Manchester Housing Providers (GMHP), said: “We have to work together to improve the opportunities for young people who’ve experienced care. It’s important to recognise that some young people are dealt a tougher hand in life, and it’s our responsibility as a community to ensure that we can work together to support them to have safe and stable housing, plus finding them good jobs and training to succeed in life.”

GMHP members like us are developing our housing offers for young people leaving care so they have a home to call their own and are supported as they transition from living in care to living independently.

Housing providers will also help people get work ready by offering employment support by way of CV writing and interviewing skills, confidence building, and by offering a range of apprenticeships and opportunities that’ll be extended to young people leaving care.

We’re also exploring different ways of providing mentoring and buddying to young people leaving care, who've told us how important it is to have a friendly voice on the end of a phone or a longer-term mentor to support them as they move into independence.

#GMCLW

Take care.

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