Closing the Gap - Empower Care Leavers in London

As the days are getting shorter we hope that you had enough time to soak up the lovely summer sun over the past couple of months. We certainly had a good summer with the team and the young people enjoying the terrace at our new offices in Waterloo!

Energized by the sunshine (and the odd cup of coffee or tea), we saw many enthusiastic young people progress in their future careers. Over the past three months, 22 of them gained full-time or part-time employment, whilst some of them kick-started their career with an apprenticeship. Another 13 care leavers have now started their university or college course, whilst 12 young people are broadening their horizons on work placements with our corporate partners.

Beginning a new chapter in life, especially for young people, can be a scary and intimidating experience. If you’re then confronted with additional barriers that growing up in care brings with it - from insecure housing, to financial instability, to the lack of a social safety net and the general feeling of having no-one to fall back on in case something goes wrong – moving forward in life can appear an unsurmountable challenge.

Care leavers need help to break down the barriers and face up to the difficulties in front of them, and it is fantastic that they can count on you to support them to do so!

Rachael, 21, SEN teaching assistant

Rachael has had an interest in the structure and development of human society and the plurality of communities from a very young age. At 12 years old, she participated in a student exchange programme, travelling to South Africa and absorbing the local culture. Impressed by what she had experienced, she became an Ambassador for the programme, and the following year assisted local outreach teams to deliver training sessions in South African orphanages.

Following a work experience with a national children’s charity, working with children and families with complex needs, she decided to pursue a career that would enable her to improve lives and have a lasting impact on society. Eager to broaden her knowledge, she went on to do degree in sociology.

After graduating from university, however, Rachael was struggling to transition into meaningful employment that would allow her to build her skills and experience. Whilst recent statistics show that graduate unemployment rate is at a long time low, these numbers have to be put into perspective. On the one hand, more and more young adults decide to continue their education and pursue a post-graduate degree. On the other hand, many graduates are forced into roles that don’t allow them to make the most of their talents.

Although Rachael’s previous experience and education put her in an excellent position to independently look for long-term employment, the London graduate job-market is very challenging. Having sent off over 50 applications without having been successful, Rachael eventually took on a job as a sales assistant in a retail store.

When Rachael joined Drive Forward Foundation in September, she was eager to progress her career and quickly took the advice provided by her Employment Consultant in order to find employment in a relevant field. Interested in Education and Training, as well as Social and Youth Work, she polished up her CV and tailored it to each opportunity she wanted to apply for. With just this little extra support, it didn’t take long until Rachael had secured a full-time position as a Special Educational Needs Classroom Assistant at a school.

Without your generous support, her successful transition into this new chapter would have been so much more difficult. With no savings in her account, she was struggling to pay for her travel in order to get to work. Thus, the closing the Gap fund provided her with a travel card to bridge the gap until Rachael received her first pay cheque.

Peter, 25, intern at a creative agency

Peter joined Drive Forward in September last year, whilst he was still completing his undergraduate degree in Social Psychology at King’s College. With his open and ambitious personality, he instantly struck a chord with the team as well as the volunteers he encountered. Eager to learn and make new experiences, Peter took up any opportunity that would allow him to gain deeper insight into different work environments. He attended skills building workshops and several events with our corporate partners to broaden his knowledge about the world of work. His high level of motivation and goal-oriented attitude soon enabled him to secure a placement with J. Walter Thompson. His enthusiasm for the role and eagerness to learn prompted JWT to extend his placement for an additional two months.

Inspired by this fantastic experience, Peter was eager to learn more about the sector and its different industries and he began applying for relevant roles. He had not only made a lasting impression at JWT, but also managed to build and continuously nurture a valuable professional network. It is through the contacts that he made during his placement, that he has now secured another internship for six months with a creative agency in the city.

It is only through your support, however, that Peter is able of taking up this fantastic opportunity!

Living in Surrey, travelling to London every day isn’t only a time-consuming endeavour, but also a very costly one. As our corporate partners, JWT know about the difficulties and challenges care leavers face when moving into employment. They understand the financial pressure these young people endure and have made an effort to change their internal procedures to accommodate their needs. Hence, they would offer interns to cover their travel expenses from day one, regardless of usual payroll periods.

With companies outside our immediate reach, such a level of commitment cannot be taken for granted and young people are often cautious about asking their future employer for support, as they fear negative consequences of disclosing their financial situation. In Peter’s case, he could expect his first paycheque only after having worked for a month. In order to go to work every day, he needed to spend the money he had saved up for rent on his daily travel.

Many of the young people working with us have been in the situation before and not managed to get back on track with their payments despite having taken on a job. Thanks to you, Peter will not have to face this challenge. As soon as we learned about his difficulties, we offered Peter a one-month travel card, so that he will not fall into arrears.

Thank you!

Your donation is still worth double!

Closing the Gap has been awarded a Community grant from GlobalGiving! This will allow us to support even more young care leavers to overcome financial hardships when moving into training and employment. How it works: If we raise £10.000 for the Closing the Gap fund until May 2018, globalgiving.org will release another £10.000 to facilitate young care leavers transition into sustainable employment and independence.

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