Today marks the first day of a National Care Leavers Week which runs until 2nd November. The week will see a number of events throughout the UK in order to raise awareness among public and politicians alike about the ongoing needs of care leavers, and levels of support which these young people receive when they leave care.
The councillors from the Child & Family Services Overview & Scrutiny Board carrying out the Review of Support to Care Leavers have spent much of year looking at the experience of care leavers in Swansea.
Earlier this week the councillors were delighted to witness the launch of the Swansea Leaving Care Website – a website designed by care leavers in Swansea for care leavers. As well as providing good advice, Swansealeavingcare.com signposts young people to the many different services that are on offer to make the transition as simple as possible and help improve outcomes for this group.
The Task & Finish Group also took time out recently to learn about the provision of supported accommodation within Swansea and how it contributes to helping care leavers. Their programme included a visit to Swansea Foyer, meeting the Director of the Swansea Young Single Homeless Project , and learning about The Briars, which is a shared house situated in Blaenymaes specifically for care leavers.
The Task & Finish Group will complete its evidence gathering during November and then work on preparing a report which will contain recommendations for improvement.
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