From care to where? Care leavers, homelessness and then prison.
Posted on:
A disturbing figure suggests that 1 in 4 young care leavers find themselves homeless at 18 years old.
This is a statistic we should all be deeply concerned about as a society. Something is clearly going wrong.
The reasons for a child or young person going into care are numerous, but abuse or neglect are the most common, accounting for 63% of cases. Other reasons include family dysfunction, absent parents or parental illness. It is easy to appreciate that these are some of the most vulnerable young people in society, with diminished life chances and in need of support beyond the age of 18.
What are the challenges young people face when leaving the care system and what support is available to them? Why are so many ending up homeless with some ending up in the prison system lost hopeless and forgotten.
These young people are already vulnerable, let down by family or other adults and then, ultimately, let down by the state. Surely it is these young people, who emerge from the care system already at a disadvantage, already with their life chances eroded, that are entitled to the most support.
There are things that can be done, steps the government can take to make a difference. It shouldn’t be left to charities to advocate for, give a voice to and support young people that society as a whole has a responsibility towards.
Despite this, some fairly simple things that could make a huge difference to care leavers’ experiences are still not always put in place.
These include:
- Telling care leavers about the available support
- Helping them to stay in touch with important people
- Working with them to ensure that they have the skills they need before moving on
These young people are the future of our society and are growing in number.
Why can’t we do better by them?