ARU Accessible Summary

Research Summary – March 2021 Connection and loneliness 59% of care leavers felt connected with friends and family before Covid-19, and during the pandemic this fell to 33% . Some said they did not have people to connect with beforehand but not being able to work or go out made them feel more lonely. Others found the different tiers and rules made it difficult to stay connected: “When it comes to being lonely and isolated personally I’m away from home at university so I have a support network back home… but at one point they were tier 1 but we were tier 3. The tier system and the whole bubble system as well… To begin with I was working so I had a work bubble but then we were furloughed so that bubble has gone, almost like the bubble has gotten smaller and smaller.” (FG: Male, 21) Support bubbles were very important, especially for those who lived on their own, were shielding, or had children. Though some care leavers felt that there was not much that could be done, 49% received support with staying connected . This included having access to the internet or a laptop, being part of WhatsApp groups, and taking part in online meetups with other care leavers, as well as being contacted by their personal advisor/ social worker: “People from the leaving care group always keep in touch, we were all given help to stay in touch with a computer and internet.” (Q: Female, 24) However, 51% did not receive support and many of them reported that they needed more opportunities to talk to their personal advisor/ social worker and other care leavers: “Stay in touch and not leave it until it’s crisis point and it’s really bad when people are on the edge. Offer the support in the first place… [otherwise] it’s just a cycle where they let everyone get to breaking point. You want to feel a tiny bit important. It’s like “You’re currently not our priority at the moment, can you call another time”, which is understandable but it feels like every time you talk to them they’re always busy.” (FG: Female, 18) One care leaver explained how she felt about not having any contact with anyone during Covid-19: “Not being able to see anyone at all no family or nothing was terrible… I felt completely disconnected from everyone and ended up not making my check ins and not answering the phone. I understand the risks and obviously the law but I think anyone and everyone has suffered mentally throughout this pandemic so people who already struggled found it very difficult and felt the impact of the isolation ten times more. I feel like if I’d still had even just a 10 minute walk or face to face catchup with my social worker or someone important I rely on it would have made the world of difference.” (Q: Female, 18)