That year has been anything but comfortable and nice. The range of emotions experienced has been scarily eye opening. Getting through everything without knowing what is to come next has definitely been a character building, perspective breaking and dream shaking experience.
According to a recent report conducted by Coram Voice on challenging stigma in the care system, 1 in 10 care leavers felt that, as a care leaver, they have been treated worse than their contemporaries. This has been reflected in conversations with individuals we work with at Drive Forward, many of whom are frustrated by hearing the same negative statistics and stories in the media and by professionals working in the care system. This can have an impact on how individuals see themselves as well as how they are treated in the workplace. The most common reason that individuals who we work with leave their jobs is that they feel isolated from their colleagues, different and undervalued.
For the thousands of people who live with an eating disorder – myself included – the pandemic is wreaking havoc with our lives and recoveries. Being unable to buy food is an absolute nightmare – ‘nourish to flourish’ is a lot harder when the only food in the shops seem to be soups and low-calorie items – living off which could lead to a rapid spiral.
Today is International Women’s Day, a day on which we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women all over the globe. This year’s theme is #PressforProgress, a powerful call-to-action to unify friends, colleagues and whole communities to think, act and be gender inclusive. For us, #PressforProgress means providing the best possible support to enable …
We’re here to make a difference in the lives of young care leavers. Wherever they’re coming from, we’re on a mission to help open doors and give them the skills, confidence and inspiration to make some momentum and realise their full potential.
