Young care leavers or those on the cusp of leaving care often require more support to gain the skills and knowledge they need to live well independently. Our 16plus and Transition to independent living programmes provide learning and development, as well as a network of support and advice for young people who are transitioning from care to independence. Our staff are trained in applying a trauma-informed approach and work patiently at the pace of each young person.
The aim of these programmes is to provide young people with the skills, confidence and resilience they need to support themselves and move on to independent living.
Activities focus on:
- Living skills – finances, budgeting, dealing with debt, cooking
- Wellbeing – food and nutrition, health and hygiene
- Relationships – relationships, parenting, emotions
- Personal development – confidence and self esteem
- Employment and education – support, volunteering, cultural advice.
We also provide temporary independent living accommodation for up to three young people aged 16 and over in separate modern, fully equipped studio flats. This offers a supported experience of living independently as the young person transitions from care.
Our impact – young person case study:
Tom
Tom came to live at one of our independent living flats at The Roots Foundation Wales having just turned 16 years old, after losing his foster carer to the Covid-19 pandemic. Tom had lived in care from the age of 10 and had been in 7 foster care placements. Tom was initially very withdrawn when he arrived at Roots, and this was increased by the prospect of living semi-independently – something that he had never done before. Tom also lacked some essential practical skills and knowledge needed to survive and thrive whilst living independently.
I was very worried at first about living by myself. I didn’t really know what I was doing and I was scared I wouldn’t be able to cope with things like paying my bills. Roots helped me to figure everything out and really made me feel like I could do things for myself. It was great having people I could ask for help, and to not feel so alone.
Through our Transition to independent living programme of tailored one-to-one support, we were able to work with Tom to build his social capacity, life skills and knowledge. We focused on a range of practical skills such as cooking independently and managing finances, so that Tom could put in place his own budgeting plans for things such as food and bills.
We supported Tom to open his own bank account and set up direct debits, to pay his weekly service charges. As a result of Tom’s engagement with this support, he was able to develop positive habits of looking after his money and make payments for when he later moved out to a place of his own.
Through Roots, I’ve been able to meet other people who understand me and I feel like there are others around that who care about me. Roots is like a family, and it’s given me the confidence to feel like I can build my future. I have a job that I enjoy and am also doing training to develop my skills. I’m hoping one day I will be able to start my own business.
We also worked with Tom to improve his mental health and resilience, which involved carrying out wellbeing sessions where Tom could learn to manage his emotions.
Tom identified this as being as important to him as the practical elements of independent living skills.
Our Story
For Young People
What we do
