Salford care leavers service appealing for volunteers following John Lewis Christmas ad

A care leavers service in Salford is appealing for more volunteers to assist in their mentoring programme following a John Lewis Christmas Advert.

Pure Insight runs training courses in March and September every year to give people training in mentoring care leavers on a one-to-one basis.

Volunteers are given a 10-week course, where they will learn to provide emotional and practical support to care-leavers between the ages of 18 and 28.

Other programmes they run include group activities, assistance with finding education and employment and support for care experienced young parents.

Their CEO, Sarah Sturmey, said: “Everybody needs somebody and when you don’t have that consistent, reliable person in your corner, life can be tough.”

They also run a Christmas dinner for people who would be alone with help from the Gold from the Stone Foundation.

She added: “We know every young person needs a champion in their corner and support to thrive and young care leavers are no different.

“There are the additional challenges a young care leaver faces such as living alone at an early age and the huge responsibility that comes with that.

“It can be difficult to figure out things like healthy relationships, how to manage a tenancy, how to get a job and manage your time when you don’t have support structures around you.”

An Office for National Statistics report in 2022 found 45,940 care leavers between the ages of 17 and 21 in England.

The care system has gained recent attention with the release of the John Lewis Christmas advert, ‘The Beginner’.

It follows a foster parent trying to learn how to skateboard before meeting their newly-fostered child.

Made in collaboration with Action for Children, it states there are 108,000 children in the care system.

Ms Sturmey said: “It is really encouraging to see a major brand raising awareness in such a way that encourages people to be part of the change that is needed.

“We hope it inspires more people to consider becoming foster parents or to consider a mentoring programme like ours where they can support a young person.”