YPBMF and NLCBF events always act as powerful platforms for our Champions and Legends to come together and share their thoughts on the things that matter most to care-experienced individuals. Our last series of events brought reflections from YPBMF on the meaning of people, place and purpose to those with care experience.
This time around, YPBMF reflected on the event itself including the topic of supporting of young people with additional needs, a theme that is featured prominently in this year’s ‘In Their Own Words’.
Read on to hear from three of our YPBMF members, Tiana (Legend), Leo (Legend) and Darren (Champion).
The run-up
Leo shares his experience leading up to the event. “Before the event we had some online planning calls to talk through the session together and ask any questions. I was hosting a fireside chat with a leaving care manager, asking what they have done with the ‘In Their Own Words’ Asks for Safe & Affordable Homes. This area is especially relevant to me. Recently, I have seen how this can be either the root cause of challenges in life, or the beginning of being able to start your life.”
The event
The Managers Event had a positive reception with many thought-provoking sessions taking place. This was felt by both attendees during the event and behind the scene by the Champions and Legends.
Darren took to the stage to present during the ‘In Their Own Words’ takeover to give managers direct insight into the surveys. He felt very positively about care-experienced people being heard, commenting that the event “proves how hard NLCBF work to push forward the voices of young people, and get every answer possible so that change becomes a reality and not just a dream”.
Tiana hosted a fireside chat spotlighting how local authorities have responded to the key asks from the Communities of Support report. Attendees liked what Tiana had to say and wanted to get more insight from her: “I was approached by managers interested in asking for my thoughts on how to improve this in their local offer.”
Leo points out that one of his highlights was networking with leaving care managers and not necessarily in the main room (!): “Often the best conversations happen in between sessions – I learnt a lot from chatting to people in the lift!”
Outside of the lifts, another of Leo’s highlights came from one of the sessions in the main room run by Tricia Reynolds, HMPPS’ Care Experience Lead for Prisons. Tricia gave a presentation detailing what HMPPS is doing to support care-experienced people in custody. This is an important topic which needs more awareness around it; as Leo puts it, “more people need to understand the extra vulnerabilities experienced people can have and what this means for them in prisons.”
An important theme – supporting young people with additional needs
One of the overarching themes that came out of this year’s ‘In Their Own Words’ was that supporting individuals with care experience is not a ‘one size fits all’ situation. Tailored support is needed. This is especially relevant when it comes to supporting care experienced young people with additional needs.
Reflecting on this and what it means to her, Tiana is clear on the subject. She points out that it’s about “young people with a wide spectrum of various needs – something which needs to be recognised and welcomed”. Tiana also added that neurodivergence is something that is personally important for her and feels that it needs to be talked about more.
“Various needs” was put into context by Leo’s thoughts on the theme as he shared a personal take: “In lots of ways, I’m independent but my additional needs still mean I need support for lots of things when trying to navigate life. Even just little tasks that most people take for granted can be a struggle for me so it’s important that I can be open to professionals about what I need and for them to remember [those things]. For example, I need help reading documents and filling out forms… even if I’ve told somebody that, they sometimes forget and it can be frustrating to keep asking.”
Insights such as these remind us that supporting those with care experience definitely requires paying attention to what an individual needs rather than assuming that everybody needs the same thing. We can do that though listening and learning so that we can all improve the support we offer.
Darren is of the opinion that the events are a good place to learn about what is needed to help those around you. In Darren’s own words, “Knowledge is power and it always benefits you and those around you.”
Highlights of being part of YPBMF
Events at NLCBF and YPBMF are more than just a series of sessions – they are also opportunities for personal growth and team-building. Naturally, this is an important part to reflect on too.
The memories that are made are one of Tiana’s highlights: “Even though we all have different experiences, we all share some common ground which means we understand each other on a deeper level.”
For Leo, YPBMF is something that allows him to at least temporarily take a step back from all of the ups and downs that life brings. He feels that “whenever you are in a bad place coming to events clears your mind and provides a space or break.”
Darren also feels very positively about being a part of the YPBMF. In fact, he refers to really feeling a part of the “YPBMF family” and feels that attending the events gives him “a top-up of energy and passion”. Darren also takes the events as an opportunity to do his own reflections: “I get a lot of self-reflection done at events. The stigma is real, society can make us feel that it’s our fault, or that we are just another number – but that is wrong. It makes me think that maybe being care-experienced isn’t that bad when you are part of a community like NLCBF.”
Summary
These events provide an opportunity for thought-provoking conversations and sharing meaningful insights. It’s also a vital space for care-experienced individuals to voice their needs, share their stories, and connect with those dedicated to supporting them so that, ultimately, their quality of life can be improved. Through listening to these voices and their stories, we will learn more about what to aim for. As Darren said earlier, “Knowledge is power and it always benefits you and those around you.”
Just in case you are wondering, the quilt being worn in the shot above was made by Quilts for Care Leavers, a scheme that gifts care experienced young people with a “quilted hug”. They joined us in our event marketplace. If you’d like to find out more about what they do and how they are supporting care experienced young people, head to their website now.
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