It was exciting to get a small pot of money to work with some young people in care across the south of England. For these young people, getting to 16, 17, 18 years old, the prospect of moving out and living independently is looming. Managing a tenancy, paying bills, budgeting for food and household items, getting to work – it all adds up, financially, and emotionally. And often they have no one to fall back on. [The lovely other side of this story is when families who have supported a young person until 18, continue the relationship and enable them to stay on. But this isn’t the story for everyone.] In the UK, the average age of adult children living with their parents is 24 – at least 6 years longer than those leaving care. Even then, parents may be helping out with money and emotional support.
The pot of money we got is from the Centre for the South, an initiative at the University of Southampton, a hub for knowledge exchange and enterprise with a focus on public policy. Our project will aim to provide space for looked after young people to share their experiences and views on moving towards independence when they leave their supported lodgings or foyer, and work with them to create recommendations for policy and practice to support young people like them in the future. These recommendations will be presented to decision-makers such as Directors of Children’s Services, MPs, and local organisations that support children in care as they move towards adulthood. We’ll keep you up to date with how we get on.

Image from freepik.com/dropbotdean