ARU Final Report

42 Care leavers’ experiences of support during the Covid-19 pandemic “My friends mostly just by calling everyday.” (Q: Female, 24) “Non biological family have been there everyday and night.” (Q: Male, 20) “My dad being able to talk to him helps me a lot” (Q: Male, 22) “The people who have been most supportive and I never doubted their help. CICC, my nurse, my brother, my boyfriend and my step mum.” (Q: Female, 22) “My husband and friends are my lifeline.” (Q: Pangender, 21) “Highly supportive and open group chat on Telegram app with 3 best friends which provided me with legitimate and real emotional support and care. Something that mainstream or organised services could never provide even if they tried as it just doesn’t feel or work the same as genuine friends that care about you as a person.” (Q: Male, 20) The care leavers highlighted the central role of family and friends, which was also reflected in the focus groups. In particular, some care leavers shared how their foster carers had gone “above and beyond” to support them during the pandemic: “I feel support from my foster mums have been great, and my partner and his children, support from Young Lives Foundation.” (FG: ND, ND) “I’d say generally my foster carers have gone aboveandbeyondformyselfandtheotherchildren living here. Theirmental health is important aswell but they seem to keep everyone uplifted. There’s a lot of carers out there that care a lot for the kids and it’s good to see them carry on doing that.” (FG: Male, 19) Roberts et al. (2020) highlights the importance of communicationwith young people about whowould be available to themon a day-to-day basis, aswell as in emergency times. Furthermore, information about access to specialist mental health services was seen as a priority aswell as an increase in support for those who are already struggling with their mental health (Roberts et al., 2020; Street Doctors et al., 2020). Street Doctors et al. (2020) recommend that support services need to prepare for digital engagement with young people and have clear plans in place as well as training for support workers to deliver digital support. Assistance and advocacy available through third sector organisations also highlighted the benefits of multi-agency working to young people (Roberts et al., 2020).