Christmas Hope for Youngsters from care. 

​

In 2016 the Department for Education reported that 11,000, 16, 17 and 18 year olds left local authority care. 45% of looked after children (and 72% in residential care) have a mental health disorder and are between four and five times more likely to attempt suicide in adulthood. Currently the ‘Make a Difference’ campaign is reaching less than 1% of those children, by extending this delivery to a nationwide campaign focused within each county, the goal is to reach at least 50%. 

 

“Sometimes we stop and contemplate the difference that we are making. What difference does decorating a hall with tinsel do, what difference can pouring a drink make, what difference can serving a meal make?   

 

“The difference is that since we started, none of our young people have lost their lives to suicide. That’s the difference.”

 

-   Trandeep Sethi, Staffordshire County Council’s Family Hub Development Lead.

 

Christmas is a time when families and friends come together, but for many thousands of young people who have left the care system across the UK it can be the loneliest time of the year.

 

Not only that, but it can be deadly. With so many care-leavers having experienced abuse, neglect, or witnessed domestic abuse earlier in life, they are more likely to experience mental health disorders and, as a result, more likely to attempt suicide than the general population.

 

Many of the reasons for them taking their lives – including loneliness, isolation and the feeling that no-one cares about them – come to a head at Christmas, when they are surrounded by other people’s happiness but have to spend the festive season on their own.

 

For Trandeep, whose role involves looking after young people in Staffordshire who grew up in care but have since left the system, this was something he decided to address, after he found himself having to write reports on the suicides of three young care-leavers in just three years.

 

In response, he and his team launched the ‘Make a Difference’ Christmas Party event, a festive meal that would help lift the mood of the county’s young care-leavers and empower them to build relationships with each other. 

 

However, finding somewhere to host the meal proved very difficult, with several local authority kitchens and children's homes refusing Trandeep and his team access to their facilities.

 

That changed when Trandeep approached Derbyshire’s Freemasons, whose response was very different. Within an hour of his inquiry, a venue had been confirmed, along with a resounding “We will do it for you!” – an offer which included providing a three-course meal, entertainment and gifts for everyone.

 

All Trandeep had to do was bring the guests.

 

That was nine years ago. To this day every December – except during COVID, when hampers were sent out to the young people instead – nearly 100 young people and their carers have returned to the Freemason’s lodge to be fed and entertained in the days leading up to Christmas.

 

“You cannot underestimate the difference that this event makes in the lives of all those that attend,” says Trandeep. “Not just the children and young people, but the staff and those that support.