Relationships are an important part of our day-to-day lives. Our community also plays a big part in helping us to feel connected to other people.
We will support you to establish and maintain lasting friendships and relationships that are safe and important to you, and help you to contribute to the community.
Your social worker will maintain regular contact with you and offer you advice and information around healthy relationships.
Some of the following support may be useful to you:
Mentors
We can provide you with a mentor or a befriender of your choice. Your social worker can advise you about the mentoring opportunities available.
Advocates
Advocates can inform you about your rights and help you to be heard in meetings.
Simone Quaynor is our young person’s advocate - you can contact Simone on 07795 127 380 or by email at simone.quaynor@lbhf.gov.uk
Domestic violence support
You can be referred for an ‘independent visitor’ - this is someone who can befriend you and share hobbies or activities you may wish to pursue.
We can help you reconnect with people special to you or who cared for you in the past, such as:
- family members
- foster carers
- social workers
- or other professionals.
We can link you to leisure or activity groups in the community that might be of interest to you.
For example, groups for those with special education needs or disability, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children background, sports, science and theatre etc.
Care Leaver Covenant
The Care Leaver Covenant is a national inclusion programme that supports care leavers aged 16 to 25 to live independently and access opportunities in education, employment and training.
Refugee and migrant young people
As a former UASC we recognise that achieving a settled immigration status is very important towards building your life in the UK.
An unresolved immigration status can affect your ability to access further education, work, housing and welfare benefits. The Leaving Care service is committed to helping you to understand what your immigration status means and entitlements that are available to you.
We can only provide a service to you if you have an active application for asylum if you are appealing this decision made not to grant you status. We cannot provide a service to you if you are in breach of immigration law as we would be breaking the law.
We will provide the following support and guidance.
We will explain the processes that can be taken to achieve a settled status such as appeal processes, Indefinite Leave to Remain and British Citizenship. Your social worker will assist you with finding and accessing regulated and specialist legal immigration advice to help achieve this.
We will work with you to ensure that you have a financial plan so you can make an application for settled status. This detail will be recorded in your pathway plan from the point you receive time-limited leave to remain status.
We also recognise that this period of uncertainty can be distressing for you to go through and your social worker will help you plan for all possible outcomes. These will be recorded in your pathway plan.
If you have received a negative immigration decision, we will help you to get legal immigration advice on the merits of any appeal or fresh claim by supporting you in accessing organisations that assist with immigration for care leavers.
If an appeal or fresh claim does not have merit, you will be given a Human Rights Assessment - this will take into consideration all aspects of your life in the UK and any barriers you face to return to your home country.
The Leaving Care service will assist with any Voluntary Return applications. You will receive assistance with making safe travel plans back to your country of origin and receive help to plan your life in your home country. This will be reflected in your pathway plan which you will be able to take with you upon return.
We cannot offer you a service if you do not have an active immigration application and are in breach of immigration rules.