Young Care Leavers, South Tyneside Council
This group arrived with the warmth and bustle of reminiscent of a big family home — familiar, supportive and curious to learn — including three babes in arms. Chosen for their strong peer connections the group know one another’s strengths and vulnerabilities and supported one another emotionally and creatively. These participants brought a fantastic array of skills from different artforms, from crochet to role-play storytelling, alongside clear ideas and openness to experiment.
Together, they created intricate island stories in collage and clay, and a shared clay mobile inscribed with messages of power and hope — even imprinting babies’ feet into the clay as part of the narrative. By welcoming the realities of parenthood into the creative space, the group found resilience through belonging, restoration and creative flow, making this weekly time a vital, grounding pause.
“It is of great importance that care leavers feel safe in any space and are given the opportunity to establish trust. This is not an easy task but Carmen and Josie were able to foster a environment that promoted safety and trust.”
