The effect of growing up without a stable home and unconditional love is that looked-after young people have low-confidence and self-esteem. Some 10,000 young adults leave the care system each year. Most are profoundly risk-averse, lacking confidence and employment skills: 50% are not in education, employment and training.
This grant will enable us to pursue a new project, which will draw on four years of evaluated track record and best practice in training care leavers. We will create an online portal, which will use the creative methodologies to promote positive mental health, encourage participation in creative activities, and support and signpost opportunities to enter the creative industries, where the diversity of their views and life experience can become an asset rather than a barrier. We will build a community of regular users, transferring the inclusivity of in-person training to a digital audience, using a combination of live and pre-recorded workshops, discussions, chat rooms, and signposting of creative job opportunities. This is the only project specifically designed to help care leavers find work in the creative industries.
