Mission Accepted
The Independent Review of Children’s Social Care report stated 5 missions. 1 of which was that “no young person should leave care without at least two loving relationships by 2027.”
At Drive Forward, we have always focussed on holistic care of our care-experienced young people offering everything from employment support, early intervention, and professional mentoring to counselling. Between our staff, partners, mentors and supporters, we have always ensured stable and loving relationships surround our young people to enable them to thrive.
Making the Most of Our Services
In 2019 Daviona joined Breakthrough, our early intervention programme that was designed to give care-experienced young people aged 15-18 a voice as they approached the transition into becoming care leavers. By offering group events, career insight sessions as well as bespoke one-on-one support, our young people learnt important employability skills and grew to believe in their own potential. After 3 years of building her confidence, peer network and learning how to become an independent adult with our Programme Manager, Claudia Roehlen.
We are thrilled that Daviona has chosen to continue using our services and is now working with Nicholl Hardwick, one of our Careers Managers, to pursue full-time employment.
Nicholl Hardwick
Nicholl is one of our Careers Managers who has been supporting care-experienced young people for over four years!
“Daviona was introduced to me as a Breakthrough graduate and came with a keen sense of focus and drive to succeed. For any care-experienced young person I work with, we first have to develop a CV. Daviona’s ambition was clear from our sessions and our first ever application together was for the Civil Service Care Leaver Internship 2022/2023 intake. Within two weeks of submitting her application, Daviona was invited for an interview!
Interview preparation is key to anyone securing a job. So I organised mock interviews with Daviona and arranged a mock interview with an actual Civil Servant to ensure Daviona had the best chance of success. Daviona’s interview was last week and we have our fingers crossed for her!”
Building a Support Network
Not including all of Daviona’s friends from Breakthrough, but by simply using our services she now has at least two points of contact that she can access for support. We look forward to growing Daviona’s support system further by introducing her to our partners via the amazing employment opportunities they create for care-experienced young people.
Increasing Confidence
"The experience I had with this organisation has opened so many doors for me! I've made friends, experienced things I never thought possible and became a more confident person as a whole."
Our work at Drive Forward
Drive Forward has been set up to enable care-experienced young people in London to achieve their full potential through sustainable and fulfilling employment. Since 2010, we’ve worked with over 100 businesses and employers, and supported over close to 3,000 young people into meaningful careers. One of the key aspects of our success is working with employment partners, committed to creating supportive, valuable and meaningful opportunities for our young people. Join Lloyds Bank, Superdrug, Baringa Partners, and American Express to share your expertise, resources and passion for change. Partner with us and create work placements and jobs that benefit you and our care-experienced young people.
