Closing the Gap - Empower Care Leavers in London

A very Happy New Year and welcome to Drive Forward’s first project update of 2020!

Over the past year, we’ve seen so many young people thrive in their chosen careers and we want you, our wonderful supporter, to know that your commitment and support really matters to these young people.

“I never had to worry about travel money which was a serious issue sometimes, and food was always there, which was a big plus… I wish that more care leavers had this type of support… I wouldn’t have a job without it.”- Fathiya, 20

In 2019, over 400 care-experienced young people took advantage of the various services Drive Forward offers, exploring different careers and industries, building their confidence, self-esteem and skillset, and gaining valuable experience and insight through working with our corporate partners.

In terms of Closing the Gap, travel and food were the big issues your fantastic support was able to ease for care-experienced young people. Our Corporate Engagement team was able to make tremendous progress when negotiating work placement and internships for young people. Most of our corporate partners now have a better understanding of the financial burden care-experienced young people face when moving into employment and are willing to help individuals through reimbursing their travel and covering their lunch expenses. We are thrilled that our partners are leading the way to more inclusive recruitment and will continue to advocate for equal and fair practice in the sector. In the long run, we would be delighted to see a general shift in the mind-set of companies across the board, enabling all young people to pursue their careers regardless of their background.

Until then, however, we are grateful to have such fantastic supporters as yourselves working hard to enable care-experienced young people to follow their dreams. Thank you!

DeAndrae, 21

When DeAndrae started working with Drive Forward Foundation he was down to the last pound in his bank account after losing his job. He was in the process of cancelling phone and broadband contracts in order to save funds to being able to attend interviews and afford essential living expenses. As many care-experienced young people, DeAndrae is completely estranged from his family, which meant that he had no-one to turn to for help.

Being a very charming and employable young person with lots of experience in customer service, it was not long before a suitable opportunity came up. Together with his Employment Consultant Rachel, he identified an opportunity with Delfont Mackintosh theatre group. DeAndrae went for the interview and was over the moon to be offered the job. However, the introductory training was about to commence immediately and DeAndrae was struggling to afford the travel to get to it. He also needed smart clothing for his new role, another expense he had not anticipated.

It was your generous support that allowed DeAndrae to accept the job, buy new clothes, and travel to work at the beginning of his new role.

Ven, 19

Ven joined Drive forward in October last year, looking for a job that would accommodate to her responsibilitites as a single mother. Her experience of and passion for working with children encouraged her to look for teaching assistant roles. Van also thought that working for a local school would allow her to better juggle working and parenting. With no local opportunties available at the time, Van broadened her search and found an exciting opportunitiy in a SEN Catholic school. She applied and was successful! However, when Van realised that the cost of travel between her home and new workplace would exceed the amount availbale to her, she prepared to turn down the job. Lucky for her, Drive Forward was able to support her transition into the world of work with a one-month travel card enabling her to accept the job. Van started her position at the end of October and is still there today perfectly managing both work and being a caring parent.

Daniel, 19

Daniel dreams of being a proffessional footballer and is currently a promising amateur. He came to Drive Forward wanting to find a job which would allow him to train as well as to work at the same time. But Daniel was unsure of what it was that he wanted to do, so his Employment Consultant Justin took him to a jobs fair at a hotel which was advertising various roles in the hospitality industry. There he spoke to the Head of Catering who soon offered him a job on the spot!

The hotel, however, was located quite far away from Daniel’s house, causing him to doubt whether he would be able to afford travelling to work every day. Thanks to you and the Closing the Gap fund, Daniel did manage to make it to his early morning shifts at the hotel. Having started in early October, Daniel is still happy in his job today.

David, 20

David had been involved with gang activity and gang violence for a number of years and came to Drive Forward because he wanted to make a change in his life. He expressed an interest in construction, even though he had never done anything like that before. David had problems in various different areas in London, but his Employment Consultants found a place that he could attain a safety certificate (CSCS) in Romford which was a safe area for him.

David did not have the money to get to Romford for the four days of training but was desperate to attend so he could get his life back on track. Luckily, we were able to help David with this and enable him to finish his course and get his CSCS card along with other health and safety related qualifications.

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