I’m a young person with experience of the care system, based in Tower Hamlets, east London, but I’m also a citizen social scientist. My research project is all about my passion that young people’s voices, particularly those in care, need to be getting heard as much as possible. I believe there are many young people who find it hard to speak up for themselves and believe their view on life is not getting listened to as much as it should be.
I myself am care leaver, which means I no longer live with a foster family because of my age and now live independently. I faced a lot of issues when I was younger and under the social service. I struggled with my mental health, and I know that there are many other young people who have suffered and are still suffering. I have always wanted to become a social worker myself one day and help other young people because growing up with a foster family wasn’t easy.
As a foster child I felt I didn’t get the help I needed from my carer and social services, therefore I now dream of becoming a social worker and helping young people in the future, using my experience to support them.
While I was doing this research I interviewed friends of mine, other young adults who had past experience of the care system. All these people said they faced similar problems which had affected them both mentally and physically in the long term. Not enough people listened to their point of view in life.
When social services asked me to move out of my foster family I got placed in a shared accommodation house. I didn’t agree to it because I know how it can affect my mental health living with other young people, because of the lack of control. But later on social services managed to offer me a temporary flat. After living there for two and a half years I eventually managed to get my permanent accommodation. It a very long wait and I was facing lot of problems during that time. Not having stability can make everything harder, including things like being a researcher on this project.
My dream is that things get easier for young people in care and care leavers, and the way to do that is to get their voices heard.
Spotlight
One place in Tower Hamlets that has helped me is Spotlight, near Langdon Park station. I first visited when I was sixteen during the school holidays, having discovered it by chance. Someone at the centre asked if they could involve young people in different activities, and I was invited to join.
Spotlight is a place where young people engage in a variety of activities, aimed at all kinds of different interests. Some people go there after school to study. I participated in activities such as drawing and going to the park with a group of girls, other young people who had similar interests to me. I really enjoyed my time there and it helped me to gain confidence. It’s a great opportunity for young people to make new friends and learn new things.
The second time I visited spotlight is to interview someone that works for young people. They told me that there needs to be support so that young people “never give up on [their] dream and goals”.
To find out more about Spotlight, you can visitwww.wearespotlight.com
The challenge of hopelessness
Places like Spotlight, where you can meet new friends and take part in fun activities, can help counteract a common feeling among young people in east London - that of feel hopeless.
Across all of my interviews, in one way or another, the interviewees had experienced moments and phases of hopelessness during their time in foster care. Negative events that had taken place directly or indirectly to the interviewees led to them feeling left out, or feeling as if they were not important. It is apparent that there is a chain of events which can lead to issues such as hopelessness and this can vary in seriousness.
An instance of where this had happened was when one of my interviewees foster parents seemed to behave quite differently with their biological children compared to the interviewee.
They had believed that as they were a foster child the parents treated their own kids much better, and with more importance than them. This had led to psychological effects on the foster child which in turn led to behavioural issues.
In more major examples, the extent of the feeling of hopelessness led to suicidal thoughts for one of the interviewees. In this case, the foster child had experienced a nasty environment which was filled with shouting, arguing and disagreements. It got to a point where the foster child felt suicidal thoughts.
These instances go to show the levels of emotional distress which foster children go through and should be analysed to come up with solutions to deal with issues so that all young people can be hopeful for the future.
Increasing awareness & providing support
A key thing I heard in my interviews is that for foster families to best support kids they need as much training as possible. While lots of foster parents offer loving and stable homes, some might not completely ‘get’ the emotional and mental health needs of foster children.
Giving them more training in trauma-informed care, child development, and mental health awareness could make a huge difference. It’s also great to always include foster children in talks about their well-being, letting them have a say in their own care. With the right help and accountability, foster families can build supportive environments where kids feel safe, valued, and heard.
Support is a key part of social care and really helps kids along their way. Some of my interviewees mentioned that support could be
better, but they also recognised that it’s already there and has helped them out at key times.
For example, after having a tough time with their old foster home, one person I spoke to got rehoused. Even though they didn’t chat much with their social worker after the move, they were thankful for the help they got during it. They said that more regular check-ins and follow-ups would have been nice, but they were still grateful for what they did receive. On a brighter side, another person who had a hard time with their first foster family found comfort and a better match after years of not speaking up. They didn’t realise they would be listened to. This showed how important support is and how good things can happen when it’s given well.
Emotional wellbeing
In social care, the main goal is to keep foster kids safe and happy. It’s really important for the people in charge to make sure everything’s done right so foster children are looked after every step of the way. While there can be bumps in the road, these can be sorted out with the right actions.
My interviews showed how important it is to have thorough checks for foster parents so only the best people get the job. This puts both the kids and their families at ease, knowing everything’s being handled with care. The system should be working on making things better, ensuring foster parents have all the training and information they need to create a warm and secure home. With these positive steps, we would be aiming for a future where foster kids can grow up safely and feel like they’re part of the family.
Foster kids often experience sadness, fear, and loneliness. My interviewees highlighted the importance of emotional support, as many lacked it in the way they needed. Some felt treated differently from biological kids, which also helped them grow and understand better. Others struggled to share their feelings but learned to open up with encouragement. This care made them feel connected and hopeful.
Many kept their feelings bottled up, but believing in positive change, they started to express themselves. Emotional support is crucial as it shapes a child’s self-perception and worldview. Feeling wanted and heard helps build confidence, happiness, and trust, laying the groundwork for healthy relationships. Foster parents and social workers play a significant role by listening and offering support. Simple actions like checking in, being kind, and creating a safe space can boost a child’s well-being. Every foster child deserves to feel loved and valued.
Consistent emotional support can help them heal and build a future full of confidence and care.
Nazia’s Top Tips...
I think councils should host seminars or group sessions with foster kids who can express their experiences. This will allow each of them to see that they are not going through their tough times alone and would give them more hope that they can push through.
One tip for councils is to provide free, easy access to therapy and support groups made for foster youth, ensuring they have a safe space to talk and get help.
The council could make a Foster Youth Advisory Board where foster individuals can share their experiences, concerns so that those who make decisions can take their input into consideration directly.
Councils should regularly check in with foster individuals through one-on-one meetings with a trusted mentor or social worker to ensure their needs and well-being are prioritised.
This allowed me to collect real and accurate data for my research study. The most enjoyable part of my research and this project is being able to create the zine and useful information for care leavers as well as those in care at the moment. Knowing that my work would be able to help others going through things that I have been through or perhaps worse is very fulfilling.
The most difficult part of the project is staying composed when hearing the difficulties that care leavers had to go through. Already being a care leaver who has gone through bad experiences, I unfortunately expect others to have gone through the same, however some stories and experiences that have been told to me were challenging to hear. Despite this, and how it made me feel, I had to remain calm and professional in order to keep the interviewees calm.
I would recommend that the care leavers who were interviewed should have a look at the zine and all the information provided in order to see their impact and the positive affect their words can have. This could then be used as testimonials to attract other care leavers who may benefit from this.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank my teachers and the people I interviewed as part of this research.
I never thought I would have so much confidence to interview professional people. This course has definitely developed my confidence skills.
I hope you enjoyed reading.
To learn more about the wider Act Early project that this citizen science work is a part of, please visitwww.actearly.org.uk
To learn more about the UCL Citizen Science Academy, and read more outputs from this project, please visitwww.prosperity-global.org/citizen-science-academy
About the Project - Joseph ACT EARLY | CITIZEN SCIENCE WITH CARE LEAVERS | 2024-2025
This publication was created as part of a citizen social science project led by the UCL Citizen Science Academy, based at the Institute for Global Prosperity, University College London. It was funded by, and part of, Act Early, an ambitious five-year collaboration between researchers in London and Bradford, partners from the statutory, voluntary, cultural and commercial sectors, and local communities. Act Early seeks to promote a healthier, fairer future for children living in deprived areas through a focus on improving environments that influence health and life chances.
UCL Citizen Science Academy, supported by the Public Health team and Supporting Families division at Tower Hamlets Council, developed a three month training programme covering research ethics, methods and project planning, and supporting six local care-leavers (those aged 18-25 who have experience of the care system) to carry out qualitative research connected to health and wellbeing issues they felt were of importance.
The citizen scientists were compensated throughout as part of the research team, and awarded the UCL Citizen Science Certificate on completion of six bespoke assignments. Pastoral support was provided by Tower Hamlets Council, and particular thanks should be given to Saly Begum, the council’s Education, Training and Employment Coordinator for care leavers.
The UCL Citizen Science Academy and Act Early teams would like to thank the citizen scientists graduating from this course for their commitment, good humour, and supportive behaviour towards one another. Even though this was only a short course, the life of a care leaver can be a challenging one. Over half of the group were rehoused during the three months, and balancing a training course with the shift to independent living provides a myriad of uncertainties that were overcome.
Care-experience individuals, amongst other groups that Act Early have engaged with, are often termed by researchers as ‘hard-to-reach’. In this research I hope we have shown that, when institutions are flexible enough, ‘reaching’ them is not just perfectly possible, it is in fact greatly beneficial. We hope that you have enjoyed their work.
