When a child is taken into care, their life is suddenly turned upside down leaving them feeling bewildered and adrift from everything they have ever known.
There are now a record 107,317 children in care across the UK.
A lot of these young people have experienced trauma and hardship, and unfortunately, many go on to face instability and disruption within the care system.
The charity Become helps children in care and young care leavers to believe in themselves and unleash their full potential. It works alongside young people to make the care system the best it can be.
i is launching its Christmas appeal “Together We Care” with the aim of encouraging generous readers to raise £75,000 to support Become in making a real difference to the lives of children in care and care leavers, as well as showing them that society does care about them.
“Children in care are the same as all other children and need all the things they need such as love and stability in order to thrive,” explains Katharine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of Become.
“These are children who have come into the care system through no fault of their own because of the circumstances they have been brought up in and they need all of our support.
“Far too many people hold misconceptions about these children. What happened to them was beyond their control and they are just children who need the same things as all of our children need.”
The need for support for children in care and young care leavers is greater than ever and the cost of living crisis is a major factor.
“The most common reason for children coming into the care system is because they’ve experienced abuse or neglect in the family home,” says Ms Sacks-Jones.
“This might be and is most commonly because of things happening in that home, such as parents being unable to care for them, and sometimes abuse.
“But it can also be because they are not safe due to what is going on outside the home, such as being exploited by criminal gangs, things like county lines or being preyed upon for sexual exploitation, so the decision is taken that they need to come into the care system.
“Sadly, many children go on to have a really unstable experience in care itself. Many children are moved around frequently and might live in multiple homes in a year.
“They might be moved very far away from their local area and everything and everyone they know. This can mean having to move school, facing disruption to their education, losing all their friendships, moving away from the professionals in their life – and sometimes being moved away from their brothers and sisters.
“Young people tell us this leaves them feeling alone and isolated and it can have a massive impact on their mental health and wellbeing.”
Become was established as a charity more than 30 years ago and was born out of the Who Cares? Magazine, which began in 1985 and was set up by a social worker who felt there needed to be something to give children in care a voice. Since then, Become has been working to improve the everyday lives and future life chances of children in care and young care leavers.
A huge challenge that young people in care face is something they describe as the “care cliff”, which is when they feel support suddenly disappears when they leave care.
“When young people come to leave care, that can happen overnight and often on their 18th birthday,” says Ms Sacks-Jones. “They might have to leave care, leave where they’re living, and any support that was there and be expected to become independent, way before we’d expect that of other young people.
“The ‘care cliff’ is something young people start worrying about long before it happens as they know it’s coming and some can be even younger and as young as 16 when they’re suddenly expected to leave and become an adult.
“Anyone who has a teenage child knows that you don’t just become independent. You need support to make that gradual transition into adulthood.
“But for young people in care, that often isn’t an option and on their 18th birthday or earlier, never mind if they’re in the middle of their exams or have just started a new job or are thinking about going to university, they suddenly find they have to think about finding somewhere to live, managing a tenancy, paying bills and making their way on their own in the world.
“Sadly, for a lot of young people, that is a real struggle and they end up facing all sorts of problems, including things like homelessness.”
Become has a vision of a better care system; one that ensures that all young care leavers have the same chances as everyone else to live happy and fulfilled lives.
It runs a national advice service that helps young people navigate challenges such as finding somewhere to live, dealing with financial issues and mental health crises. As well as being a listening ear for children and young people, Become points them in the right direction and helps them understand where they can get support to deal with the difficult circumstances in their life.
“We also support young people with things like applying for university and understanding the system – things that parents would often help children with,” says Ms Sacks-Jones. “We work with them to access additional support that they might need to fulfil their ambitions of going to university or vocational routes such as apprenticeships so they can overcome challenges and build a brighter future for themselves.”
She adds that although the work of Become has changed over the years, one thing that has always been at the heart of the organisation is making sure children’s and young people’s voices are central to everything they do.
“We make sure young people’s voices are heard in their own lives. We work with them to make sure they have the confidence to navigate some of these difficult situations and that they are listened to.
“We also work with young people to make their voices heard by decision-makers and ensure they listen to them and understand what needs to be different in the care system.”
Facts and figures
- Become supported 983 young people last year through its direct services*
- 220 young people shared their stories to help shape care policies
- The charity helped 32 young people get places at university
- There are a record 107,317 children in care in the UK
- Nearly 4 in 10 children are separated from their siblings when taken into care
- 82 per cent of care-experienced young people struggled to afford food last year.
- The number of care leavers aged 18 to 20 facing homelessness has increased by a third since 2018
*April 2022-March 2023
‘Show them we care’: Katharine Sacks-Jones, CEO of Become
Sadly, we are facing an absolute crisis in our children and social care system. We have record numbers of children in care and we have a system that is struggling to cope and provide them with what they need.
We are seeing both an increase in numbers of children coming into care and councils struggling because of budget cuts to support them.
A lot of early support they would have had is no longer there because of things like youth clubs and family support services getting closed, so often things are reaching crisis point where children need to come into the care system rather than getting earlier support.
As a result, we are seeing an increase in the instability young people in care face, more children being moved around and greater numbers of children being placed far away from where they’re from.
When young people come to leave the care system, not only do they face that “care cliff”, which is when it comes to them leaving care and many feeling that support seems to suddenly disappear, they are now having to face those additional challenges that we are all facing such as the cost of living pressures and the housing crisis and they are having to navigate those things on their own.
There are a number of reasons driving an increase in children coming into care. We know the main reasons for children coming into care are abuse and neglect. The context is we have seen real rising poverty and we know that when poverty goes up, it has an impact on levels of abuse and neglect that children experience.
We’re also seeing more teenagers come into the care system. These are children who might be at risk of exploitation.
We are absolutely thrilled to be chosen as i’s Christmas appeal charity of the year and this is an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of children in care and young care leavers.
Things are getting worse for children and young people in the care system and this brilliant campaign will allow readers to get behind them.
This appeal will have a huge impact in Become’s ability to support children and young people and be there directly for more people who need us. But it is not just about the support that Become can provide, but about showing these young people that there are people out there who do care about them and raise awareness of this issue.
Often, children in care and young people leaving care can feel they are on their own and that society doesn’t care about them or understand them.
We hope i readers will show them that isn’t the case and that there are many people who do care about them and want to stand alongside them.
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