Sixteen year old James is a young person in our care. Last week he met and spoke to The Duchess of Edinburgh during her visit to Tiverton to meet local charities and groups.
James told The Duchess about his experience in care, and about the work that he does with our Stand Up Speak Up (SUSU) group and help he’s giving to the council to better support young people in care.
Asked what they talked about, James said:
“We talked about the challenges and the things that go on in the average foster kid’s life, about how difficult it is being in care, and what affect it has on our daily life.
“We talked about the Total Respect training that we’re giving social workers, Personal Advisors and management, to help them be more empathetic in how they help people in care. And I also told her about work I do with another group, called Champions for Change.
“She said that she thinks it’s a really good idea that I’m trying to influence change, rather than adults trying to change things on their own.”