2002 - 2012 (above)

                              

     
       2013                      2014                         2015               2016



In 2002 the first National Care Leavers™ Day took place comprising of twin events in London and Cardiff. Fresh from his appearance in a Bond movie and the Big Brother house, care leaver and star rapper Goldie launched 10,000 balloons outside Parliament with the help of care leaver author Paolo Hewitt and recent graduate and journalist Dawn Howley. 

Each balloon symbolised one of the 10,000 care leavers who leave care each year and each carried a small packet of wild Golden poppy seed and a message from a care leaver. Following a reception at the National Assembly of Wales, care leavers planted a rare species of Welsh Rowan tree at the National Garden of Wales, notable for it's ability to thrive and grow in rocky ground.

We’ve come a long way since then….. or have we? In 2003 Barriers to Work – a week of events tackling the barriers which make it hard for care leavers to get into employment – looked at the impact of welfare benefits, lack of advice, low aspiration and late starters trying to get back into education or start out in employment with limited CVs. Do the conversations sound familiar?

In 2004  the second National Care Leavers’ Week Facing a Brick Wall  looked at the difficulties care leavers faced securing safe and settled housing. A National Voice produced a Charter for safe and decent housing and a report on the housing issues faced by care leavers. The then housing Minister Keith Hill said at the National Conference ‘we are talking about such a small number of people leaving care. Surely we must be able to solve this problem….’

  
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