Councillor Edward Heron, Hampshire County Council’s Cabinet Lead Member for Children’s Services, said: “Together with our partner agencies and the community, we are committed to providing the support and opportunities needed for young people leaving care to achieve their goals and build a positive future.”
Hampshire County Council Care Leaver teams, support young people from the age of 15 years 9 months – 25 years old to be ambitious and aspirational and promotes a positive path towards their future independence.
National Care Leavers’ Week is an opportunity for Hampshire County Council and partner agencies in Hampshire to demonstrate their dedication to the wellbeing and success of young people leaving care.
The upcoming week of activities, workshops, and events are designed to empower and uplift the lives of young people in Hampshire and have been designed together with the Council’s partner agencies and the community.
A programme of events has been developed to mark this week including:
- Princes Trust Taster Day for care leavers to find out more about what the Trust has to offer
- Music Fusion – opportunity to try out rap, singing and DJ skills
- Wessex Dance Academy Taster session – WDA is changing lives through dance, giving confidence and self-esteem to young people across Hampshire.
- University transition support for those aspiring to pursue higher education
- Bright Futures - Care Leavers Jobs Fayre – giving young people access to employment and much more.
- Stress and Anxiety Management Workshop to equip care leavers with practical strategies to handle stress and anxiety effectively
The Care Leaver Service provides a wide variety of support to young people as they prepare to leave care and move into adulthood. Every care leaver is allocated a personal advisor who can support in accessing housing, education, employment, training, health services, finance advice and who can provide a shoulder to lean on, if and when needed.
As part of the dedicated work to support care leavers, Hampshire County Council is hosting the South East region Care Leavers Conference on 2 November. The event is supported through the South East Sector Led Improvement Programme (SESLIP) and will take place in Ashburton Hall, EII Court, Winchester. The Care Leavers Conference aims to share expertise, insights, and best practices with attendees through 15 different workshops and a whole range of exhibitors.
The conference will enable Local Authorities in the South East to share research, practice innovations and emerging best practice from across Children’s Services, voluntary agencies and adults services. The event will be attended by service managers, team managers, practitioners, principal social workers, researchers and other professionals.
To find out more about the local offer for care leavers in Hampshire, visit the County Council’s Family Information and Services Hub.
