Campaigns

Lost in Care: 20 years on

In December 2019 Voices From Care Cymru along with Children in Wales held an event to reflect upon the Lost in Care report which had been written by Sir Ronald Waterhouse 20 years earlier. The event was sponsored by David Melding AM who chairs the Cross Party Group on Looked After Children. It focused upon the events leading up to the inquiry into abuse in Children’s Homes in North Wales, the writing of the report and reflected on what has been done since and what still needs to be done.

Below is a video produced by Voices From Care Cymru which talks about the journey.

Passport Campaign

In 2017 Voices From Care Cymru launched a campaign calling on local authorities to pledge that all young people leaving care will do so with a valid passport. The campaign focussed on the barriers that care experienced young people face when trying to obtain a passport and how they could be overcome, as well as the opportunities having a passport can open up for them.

This is not a suitcase

In 2007 VFCC ran a campaign with the Fostering Network Wales and The Bryn Melyn Foundation called ‘This is not a suitcase’ to protest against the practice of using bin bags to move children’s belongings with them from foster home to foster home and when they leave care. The campaign received statements of support from many Assembly Members. The First Minister, the Right Honourable Rhodri Morgan AM, said in relation to the campaign; “All children, including those in foster care, have the right to be treated with respect. It is by paying attention to what we might consider are minor details that we can ensure that we display respect. This is the 21st century and we should end the practice of moving children between placements with their belongings packed into bin liners and other inappropriate containers. It’s a small but important step: let’s take it.”