£1m Big Lottery Grant

EVERY teenager leaving Stoke-on-Trent City Council's care system will be given tailored support to help them adjust to adulthood and independence.

The massive project will be funded by a Lottery award granted to Arch North Staffs.

Its Youth Support Network has received £988,538 from the Big Lottery to fund the scheme over the next four years.

Individual support packages will be set up by Arch, which will work with the city council and voluntary organisations to provide the necessary help.

Paul Bridges, chief executive of the Hanley-based charity, believes it is vital that help is provided to young people at such a crucial point in their lives.

He said: "We will be providing specialist support to young people who are leaving care to ensure that those coming out of that experience do as well as they possibly can.

"It can be a most challenging period for anybody, as they adjust to the world of work and living on their own. It is a very critical time.

"We will be working with young people from age 15 upwards. There's no point in leaving this work until the last minute, it has to be long term support.

"The city council does provide support for care leavers, but I think, as a charity, there will be more we can do than a statutory body. We can be more flexible and creative, because we're not bound by the same regulatory framework.

"We want to provide the young people with all kinds of support, from education to mental health."

The Youth Support Network will see Arch working in partnership with 10 organisations, including the YMCA, Voluntary Action Stoke-on-Trent and Unity.

Mr Bridges says this will allow the scheme to source the right kind of support for every care leaver. He added: "For example, if a particular young person is experiencing a bereavement, we would provide a specialist bereavement service for them.

"Another care leaver may be experiencing drug problems, in which case we'd find a drug treatment package to help them. "The main thing we want to achieve is stabilising the lives of the young people concerned.

"Figures show that only 36 per cent of care leavers are in education or training, while 13 per cent have had three or four different placements during their time in care."

Arch is one of only 30 organisations across England to receive cash from the Big Lottery's Youth in Focus programme. The money will fund at least five new positions at Arch and its partner organisations.

Mr Bridges said: "The project will make a huge difference to the lives of young people leaving care by creating new kinds of help and support and providing them with the opportunities to succeed.

"It will also mean that there are some exciting new job opportunities at Arch and organisations, contributing to the local economy."

The Youth Support Network will be aiming to provide assistance to between 50 and 70 young people each year until 2015.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council's young people's team currently works with about 240 people who are leaving care or have just left care.

Councillor Debra Gratton, cabinet member for children's services, said: "We are pleased to hear that Arch has been successful in its funding bid, and we will be working closely with them to support them in the future."

Article published by The Sentinel on Saturday, June 04, 2011

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