Kane Wilton shares a special bond with his twin sister Sinead and wants to do everything in his power to keep her safe.
Although the siblings see each other regularly now and enjoy going to football matches together, Kane remembers how powerless he felt when they were separated for long periods of time during their childhood when they were in the care system.
Kane, now 24, who lives in Devon, first went into care when he was very young and initially, he and his sister were together. However, at the age of six, Kane was separated from Sinead and as he was more than 300 miles away from her, he only saw her once in a year.
The siblings were then reunited for a while, but then separated again in their teens and Kane recalls the separation when they were older hitting him even harder.
“Being a twin is a big thing for me and I wanted to do everything I could to keep my sister safe and happy,” he explains.
“I did feel the effects when we were first separated, but trying to express them was difficult because I was so young. I then chose to go into care when I was older and I was fighting for my sister to also be moved into care but I felt the adults and professionals in our life weren’t listening.
“Sinead is one of the most important things to me and I am thankful to be a twin because I feel it is a special thing and I would do anything for her.
“But I feel we were punished during our childhood by people trying to get in the way of us seeing each other due to circumstances outside our control.
“I feel like it has affected my whole life. We are close now, which I’m happy about because there’s no one to stop that. But I feel like if we’d been together, we could have been even closer and grown up together. However, we didn’t get that chance as I feel it was taken away from us.”
Kane, who is now married with two children and works in education for Devon County Council, is involved with Become, the charity for children in care and young care leavers.
i has launched its Christmas appeal Together We Care in support of Become and we are aiming to raise £150,000 so Become can help even more children in care and care leavers.
Kane is particularly keen to raise awareness of Become’s Gone Too Far project, which highlights the number of children in care who are moved more than 20 miles from their local area.
Latest government figures have revealed there has been a 62 per cent rise in the number of children in care moved away from their area over the last decade.
The data from the Department for Education shows there is a continued and significant rise in the numbers of children in care moved more than 20 miles from their area and sent to live somewhere unfamiliar, often alone and without warning.
Become’s #GoneTooFar report, based on data from local authorities, shows the average child in care in England is placed more than 18 miles from their local area and the school, friends, family and networks that matter to them – equivalent to the distance from Birmingham to Coventry, with some children moved more than 500 miles away.
Katharine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of Become, says: “All children need love and stability to thrive. But just imagine being moved far away from your local area, often without warning, to an area you don’t know, far away from everything that matters to you.
“Being moved can be incredibly disruptive to children’s education and relationships – including with brothers and sisters who might live miles away.
“Young people tell us how lonely and isolated it makes them feel and the real impact it can have on their mental health.
“It’s unacceptable that children are being moved away, not because it’s the right decision for them, but because there are no suitable options closer.
“Government must take urgent action to stop these numbers from continuing to get worse.”
Kane says: “I have had to fight to have a relationship with my sister, but not everyone in care gets that opportunity.
“This is why the work of Become is so important as it is important to campaign for change.”
How to donate
i has launched its 2023 Christmas Appeal “Together We Care” urging generous readers to raise money to help Become give vital advice and practical support to 1,300 children in care and young care leavers.
We initially set a fundraising target of £75,000 but thanks to the generosity of i readers, we now hope to raise £150,000 for the charity.
Click here to read more about what Become does: https://becomecharity.org.uk/
Here’s what your donation can provide:
- £2.50 sends a handwritten Christmas card to a child in care.
- £5 helps a child in care stay in touch with brothers or sisters living apart from them.
- £12 gives Christmas dinner to a young person who recently left care.
- £25 gives a Christmas present to a child in care or young care leaver.
- £45 pays for a young person to travel to Parliament to share their story with interested MPs.
- £50 pays for employment coaching to help someone leaving care find a job.
- £75 provides one-to-one guidance for a young person applying to university.
Click here to donate: www.becomecharity.org.uk/i-appeal