National Care Leavers Week 2019
This year, the theme for National Care Leavers Week is future aspirations. Over Autumn, we’ve been doing a whole piece of work around how we at Element can best support participants and alumni in their next steps and creative ambitions, including running an impact focus group at our offices. Sitting around the table were representatives from our Element alumni network; team managers and participation workers from our Local Authority commissioners; the Element team; and impact specialism from CAN support. We heard from alumni about their experiences of participating in Element projects and the network: what worked well, what made positive change, and what they wish had happened, but didn’t. Here’s what we found out:
Participating in group projects is a useful way to share your work in a supportive environment. It can be a major first step in feeling comfortable and confident in other aspects of life, like being able to perform poetry in front of an audience.
Risk is good sometimes! Stepping out of your comfort zone, challenging yourself to achieve, taking that first step can often lead to good things. The Element Young Creatives talked about how the memory of jumping into an Element project had helped them to say yes to things that might seem scary but that offer exciting potential for personal development.
Icebreakers are important. They provide ways for participants to let down their guard, and realise similarities between each other. It is a safe way to begin sessions, that then go onto explore aspects of identity. It brings the group together, and encourages expression and reflection.
Participants in a project start as strangers, they continue as peers, and they leave as friends. It takes time to build friendships, so projects that encourage collaboration, sharing and team-work are an important way to build genuine, lasting friendships that have a life of their own.
Hearing from a variety of people in a variety of roles and working relationships with Element, and not only engaging but actively involving alumni in strategic decision-making, is essential for proper discussion around change and impact and a crucial way in which to shine light on priority areas. It is our future aspiration as an organisation to continue to collaborate with a multiplicity of voices and experiences, in order to design projects and support structures that are tailored to the young creatives we work with.
After our impact focus group, we hosted our fortnightly drop-in session. Here’s Element Young Creatives responding to the National Care Leavers Week theme (below): a reminder of the real value of asking the same question to different people!
