Supporting young care leavers as they look for work

I've had a couple of meetings with an awesome lady from an incredible organisation. Amarjit Pawar is from "Right Resolution" an organisation that provides support for young care leavers.

Hey, being 18 and heading towards whatever is coming next aint easy for anyone...but to do that entirely on your own is incredibly tough. You see, when looked-after children turn 18 years old the services they have relied for support just drop away...if not exactly like a cliff edge, then actually like the steepest, fastest slope you can imagine.

So thank goodness for community organisations like 'Right Resolution' whose staff work with young care leavers to give them the best chance possible to succeed. They don't just listen...they 'advocate' for them and steer them through the maze. And listen, going the extra mile doesn't even come close.....going however far it takes, for however long it takes, whenever it is needed, might just start to scratch the surface.

Having someone to encourage you, introduce you to people, help you get great experiences that will boost your confidence and lift your aspirations...these are change-makers that are tricky to access if you are leaving care, have little social network, and are having to cope in your own flat, with a fractured and under-funded support system.

So I have offered to support the young people that Amarjit works with...and I'm going to start today by looking for a great customer contact centre for a young lady to visit.

Louise starts a job in a call centre in a few weeks but she's a bit anxious about dealing with negative or angry people. So I'm hoping she can meet some people who do that job now, so they can share their own coping strategies for dealing with difficult customers.

Going forward I hope to be able to share great success stories about my work supporting young care leavers. It already feels like a real privilege to be involved.