Having lived through the care system and experienced its positives and negatives, Riley Kemp firmly believes young people in care, or who have left care, need to have a voice when it comes to campaigning for change.
Riley, now 20, was 13 when he went into care and remembers feeling scared and bewildered at the prospect of going to live with people he didn’t know.
He spent brief periods of time living with different foster carers around Dorset and was happily living with his past foster carers for three years, when he was suddenly moved again.
“I was with these foster carers from the ages of 13 to 16 and I didn’t want to leave them because I considered them to be the next best thing to parents,” he recalls.
“But because I have mental health problems and there were issues surrounding funding, they moved me to a different provision.
“Being moved around a lot in care is really hard. I struggled to settle after that because I felt they were just going to turn up and take me somewhere else.”
Riley’s final placement was in mental health support living accommodation and although he liked it there and wanted to stay, he felt as soon as he turned 18, there was an expectation that he needed to leave.
Riley is now living with his partner and studying adult nursing at university. He has become involved with Become, the charity for children in care and young care leavers, which i is supporting with its Christmas appeal Together We Care.
Along with other young people, Riley has visited Parliament with Become a number of times to campaign for improvements to the care system.
Riley tells i that being involved in campaigning and having a platform to be heard through Become has had a huge positive impact on him.
“The first thing I did with Become was a day of action where we went to Parliament and spoke to different MPs as they were coming out and talking to them about different things that we feel need changing in the care system,” he explains.
“For me, I was talking about how I feel there needs to be more physical health and mental health support for children in care.
“As I’ve got older and have left care, I have been diagnosed with a few different health conditions and I have realised there wasn’t actually that much support while I was in care as I was only diagnosed since I left care, but I have had them for many years.
“So I told the ministers that needs to change for children in care and there needs to be a lot more investigations and support.”
Riley is a big supporter of the work of Become and particularly likes the way the charity helps young people who have been through the care system have a voice.
“When young people are in care, we don’t really have a voice,” he explains. “I know for myself and a lot of other young people, we don’t really feel listened to while we are in care or that our point of view is taken in.
“A lot of things are done against our will and we don’t really get a lot of choice. We are put with strangers and they just hope we get along.
“So it is good to have a voice and be listened to through our work with Become. In the summer, we went to the Department for Education and spoke to different MPs and ministers about issues about being in care.
“I remember thinking: ‘Woah – they’re actually taking in what I’ve said’ and it gave me so much confidence. It felt empowering and I was buzzing for days afterwards.”
Jo Petty, campaigns manager for Become, who also leads their participation network of hundreds of young people, told i that the thing she loves most about her role is that young people are always at the heart of the charity’s work.
“Young people are the experts in their lives and have experience of the children’s social care system so it is really important that we listen to them when we are thinking of the changes that are needed,” she explains.
“I get to work with young people to influence policy that government is consulting on or on issues where we think they should listen to us.
“Getting young people at the heart of what we do and giving young people a platform for their voice to be heard is an important part of Become’s work.
“Young people talk passionately about what they feel needs to change and improve in the care system. Seeing their confidence and trust in each other grow is amazing.
“It is very important for these young people who have experienced the system to tell people in power why changes are needed.
“This isn’t just a charity saying: ‘we think you can do better’. It is a young person saying things like: ‘When I was moved over 100 miles away from my support network, this is the impact it had on my education, my mental health and my sense of loneliness and this is why the system needs to 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