Care Day 2018 – Our Celebrations in Durham
On 16th February 2018 Durham County Hall hosted over 40 young people, foster carers and people from many professions in the care sector to celebrate Care Day 2018, but what was it all about?
When people think of children in care, they often think negatively, however one of the main aims of Care Day is to break down this stigma and to change this perception of the care system, with another very important part of the day being to celebrate the achievements of those in care and to acknowledge and build on their rights.
The day began with Sarah-Jane and Hannah introducing Care Day and the concepts behind it, before handing over to Jak. Jak welcomed everybody and explained how the day would proceed. Following Jak’s speech everybody in the room was asked to take part in a ‘speed-dating’ session to break the ice and get to know a bit about each other and their story. When this began the room came to life; everybody was talking to everybody else and it really opened them up.
This led nicely onto Jak and Andrew sharing their own stories regarding growing up in care; they discussed their feelings of being resentful and scared initially but how they now feel as though being taken into care is the best thing that ever happened to them. Jak and Andrew also discussed attending Youth Council meetings and meetings regarding Good Social Work practices; this built Jak and Andrew’s confidence and helped them both to realise that they do have things to say, and a voice to say those things with. Jak is now heavily involved with various committees and is a prime example of the importance of young people having a voice.
Another young person, Jade, made a speech regarding her experience of care. In her own words Jade was ‘argumentative’ and she really struggled during the first few years of being in foster care. It was only a change in town, and Social Worker, that helped her turn a corner. Jade praised her Social Worker for ‘changing her life’, she said he never gave up and he went above and beyond to help her, she also explained that she is now in a very happy place in her life and that she has a 15-month-old baby.
The day welcomed young people of all ages, who are all constantly fighting to shake the stigma of being a ‘looked after’ child and although they are ‘looked after’ children they are just children. They deserve to be safe, cared for, loved, and be given the same opportunities as every child, and this is all any of them want.
Care Day 2018 highlighted the importance of young people in care having a voice, and I look forward to seeing the progress they have made next year and Care Day being bigger and better than ever.