People with Experience of Care
Personal Stories
How we’ve Helped
We’ve helped many children, young people and adults who are (or were) in care to be heard on the issues important to them. These include seeing family, accessing education and knowing where they come from. Here are just a few of those stories*:
Chloe, 18
Although Chloe lives in Jersey, her brothers live in another country where she travels to see them. She wanted to see them more and had been asking about this for some time. We supported Chloe to talk about this with her social worker and her brother’s social workers.
Chloe and her brothers now spend more time together.
Chloe worried that a recent visit would be cancelled because of COVID-19. We supported Chloe to advocate strongly to see her family through a video link. This kept Chloe’s brother’s and her in touch in the most difficult of times. It also showed Chloe that her voice can be heard and her confidence is growing. It upholds Chloe’s right to family life.
Harry, 13
We received an advocacy request for Harry when it had been decided that they needed to live in emergency foster care.
Harry was going through a really difficult time and was being asked to attend lots of meetings and give his thoughts. The advocate from Jersey Cares was able to help Harry work out his thoughts, understand his rights and take part in the meeting in a way which felt OK.
Harry knew that his advocate was only there for him and to make sure that decisions were being made with his views at the centre.
Harry loves art and drawing and finds it really relaxing. His advocate asked for funding for Harry and was able to get a drawing tablet for him to use. Harry can chill out drawing now and share his pictures easily with family and friends. The tablet also comes in handy for art projects at school.
Anthony, 58
Anthony got in touch with Jersey Cares because he was unsure about the benefits that he was entitled to. Anthony was having difficulty with using technology and sending emails to fix this. To help Anthony overcome this barrier, his advocate found a free computer course.
Now Anthony can send emails alongside his advocate to ask questions about his entitlements and to challenge decisions he thinks are wrong.
Through getting to know Anthony, his advocate learnt more about him and what is important to him. This has led to Anthony growing in confidence, looking for paid work and knowing through experiences with his advocate that long-standing problems can be fixed.
Evie, 9
Evie really enjoys going to school but finds some parts of it tricky.
After getting to know one of our advocates, Evie now attends school meetings. The advocate and Evie prepare to make sure that all the things that matter to her are talked about in the meetings and responded to.
Evie was able to share that she is finding some of the lessons difficult, now she receives extra help with them.
Evie also said that she wanted to see Mum more often. This has happened and more time together is making their relationship better.
Sarah, 20
Taking the time to listen to Sarah’s tricky circumstances made the biggest difference. With our advocate’s support, Sarah was able to access grants and local resources. She didn’t realise any of these were available to her.
The practical impact of this had an immediate effect on her life and she could have walked away. Instead she continued to seek information about Jersey Cares’ work. She says she feels more herself now than ever before as she’s no longer ashamed of her care experience.
Sarah joined us to travel off-island to meet others with experience of care and learn more about how advocacy is transforming care globally and the rights of care-experienced young people.
Sarah continues to develop her personal aspirations too. She’s exploring options for her education – something she was previously sure wasn’t for her.
Maisie, 21
Maisie was working long hours in retail. She really wanted to study but the Government said she didn’t meet the criteria for support with her education. Our advocate helped Maisie challenge this decision and it was overturned.
This gave her the chance to think about what she wanted.
Jersey Cares gave Maisie ongoing support. We also introduced her to other young adults with similar experiences. As Maisie’s self-belief grew, she no longer wanted to ‘just get by’ and started to think about what she wanted from life.
Maisie began full-time education, achieving what she was always capable of achieving. She just needed someone to believe in her.
* The names and certain details have been changed to protect the identity of the young people.
You have created something really special with Jersey Cares. I am so pleased you are there for our families’
HEADTEACHER
You have been fantastic. Thanks so much for all of your support.
SOCIAL WORKER
It’s what they’ve needed all these years – someone independent to speak, to advocate. It’s amazing, exactly what Jersey needs.
