ARU Final Report

30 Care leavers’ experiences of support during the Covid-19 pandemic “Have never doubted that people care. Family, loved ones and Leaving Care Team I knewwould be there for me.” (Q: Male, 20) Meanwhile, some young people said they did not know where to get support from: “I did not reach out because I did not know who to reach out to so it would have been helpful to know.” (Q: Female, 23) 4.2.4 Self-help for mental health and wellbeing The questionnaire also asked care leavers what else they did to help themselves through the pandemic (theywere able to select multiple options). Themost popular activities included watching TV/films/ YouTube (79.3%), physical exercise (51.1%), arts and crafts (40.2%), and online meetups (38%) (see Graph 6); as is reflected in the literature (Roberts et al., 2020; The Children’s Society, 2020). Graph 6: Did you do anything else that helped you during the pandemic? Number and percent of care leavers Watching TV/films/YouTube Physical exercise Arts and crafts Online meetups Puzzles and boardgames Other 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 73 (79.3%) 47 (51.1%) 37 (40.2%) 35 (38%) 20 (21.7%) 18 (19.6%) Additional activities reported in the questionnaire and focus groups included: talking, walks, online/ video games, listening to or playing music, working or studying, baking, planting seeds, dog walking, keeping busy and active, colouring, inspiration from social media, keeping a routine, making lists, mindfulness, spending time with friends and family, and home-schooling or doing activities with children: “Baking, movie nights, girly nights, crafts for relatives with the children, also starting little business from home with spare time.” (Q: Female, 23) “Spent timewith my loved ones. (As one bubble.)” (Q: Female, 21) “Listen to music and do uni work.” (Q: Male, 21) “Looking after pets and family. Preparing for my baby to arrive. Playing animal crossing.” (Q: Female, 24) “I got sent some sunflower seeds, I planted these, enjoyed this. I also got a Switch and got Animal Crossing, an activity I could do with [named person]. This boosted morale as it meant we could spend time together around an activity.” (FG: Female, 17) “Some walks down to the shop or down to the river. For Christmas I received loads of adult colouring books... And just talking. The first and the second lockdown I really didn’t talk much but this lockdown… [I’ve] a plan in place so even if I don’t feel like talking I have people contacting me just to see if I’m alright…” (FG: Male, 22) “I think making the most of the people that I made a bubble with. Making a point of going over there at least twice a week… she [friend] enables me to sit down take a break, focus on my youngest for awhile. I couldn’t have done this without her. She’s been such a good support to me. I couldn’t thank her enough for the amount of help she’s given me.” (FG: Female, 24)