Tending the light - keeping the beacon burning for care experienced young people

Young adults in Orkney with experience of being in care are shining a light on their hopes and challenges this week, with the help of OIC’s employability team and Who Cares Scotland.

Ten young adults supported by the Council’s employability service and Who Cares Scotland have created a large-scale lighthouse which will be hosted by organisations across Orkney to mark ‘Tending the Light’ Festival of Care – a week long campaign coordinated by Shetland Islands Council. The Festival aims to help raise awareness of the experience of young people in care, and increase understanding in the community of the situations that can lead to young people needing care such as parental illness or family breakdown, and the various types of care – from long term to temporary, from residential to foster and kinship care.

The group of care experienced young adults in Orkney meets weekly to network with other young people who share the unique experience of being in care – with WhoCares Scotland’s Orkney Advocacy and Participation worker, Angelina Maytum there to pick up any advocacy needs, and OIC’s Employability Team Leader, Lindsey Johnson, on hand to offer support on preparing for job interviews, tackling issues at work, and flagging up skills, training and employment opportunities.

Lindsey said: “Through this group, the young people decided they wanted to take a really active part in this year’s the Tending the Light campaign.

“The young people have approached various local leaders and organisations who work with young people in care to ask them to feature the lighthouses in their own premises and on social media throughout the campaign week.”

Councillor Gwenda Shearer is Chair of the Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing Committee. She said: “I’m delighted to help launch this campaign in Orkney - and I know with the support of our employability team and WhoCares Scotland that the young adults involved in the campaign will not only help shine a light on the experiences of young people in care, but will also gain valuable skills and confidence which they can apply to other areas of their lives.”

”Leaders in Scotland have committed to The Promise to make Scotland the best place in the world to grow up, so that children are ‘loved, safe, and respected and realise their full potential’. We know that this can’t be achieved without the involvement of the care experienced community and without greater understanding and support of the wider community - so I’m delighted to see a group of local young people with direct experience of care involved in efforts to build that understanding about what it is to be a care-experienced young person, including the stigma and challenges they sometimes encounter in many areas of the lives.”

Here's a few words by the young people themselves about their weekly meetups and their involvement in the 'Tending the Light' campaign:

"A good thing about the group is we get to mix with other people with care experience and we can relate to each other. It makes you realise you're not just by yourself. Friends are also invited to the group so we get to meet and work with new people which is good."

"It would be good if we could raise people’s awareness that there is always more than one narrative and every person’s situation is different."

"It is important for us to have a voice and working together we have a better chance of being heard."

"It is great to know about WhoCares Scotland, I wish I had known about them when I was like 16/17. It would be good for younger people and for us as care experienced adults to start supporting younger ones teaching them about our experiences."

"A person who always has time to make a cup of tea and have a chat is a person that cares – this fits this group perfectly."