Additional support for young people leaving care

As a care leaver you can get support and advice from a number of different organisations.

Guide contents

Support as a care leaver

The organisations below provide information, advice, and support to care leavers.

Coram Voice

Coram Voice provide all care experienced young people with advice, guidance, and free advocacy.

Contact details:

The Rees Foundation

The Rees Foundation provides useful links to a number of support services for care experienced young people.

Contact details:

The Care Leaver's Association

The Care Leavers’ Association provides a wide range of support, including information supporting you to access your records.

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Become

Become is a national leaving care charity that provides wide ranging advice and campaigns to support care experienced young people.

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The National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum

The National Leaving Care Benchmarking Forum is a forum of over 125 local authority leaving care teams, working together to share good practice and improve services amd support for care experienced young people.

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Support with education and employment

The organisations below support care leavers with their education and employment. 

UCAS

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (UCAS) is a UK-based organisation that offers information about available courses and support with applying for university.

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GOV.UK

GOV.UK gives advice about financial support available to students.

Propel

Propel provides information and advice for any care experienced young person wanting to go to university.

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Job Centre Plus

Job Centre Plus offers support for people on benefits and for those looking for work.

Princes Trust

Princes Trust offers 12-week personal development programmes, for the chance to gain new skills, take a qualification and meet new people.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0800 842 842

Bright Lights - Catch 22

Bright Light is a partnership project being delivered by Catch22 and The Children’s Society getting care leavers into apprenticeships.

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Support with your finances

The organisations below offer financial information and advice for care leavers.

Step Change

Step Change offers free, impartial and confidential advice to help people deal with their debts.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0800 138 1111

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice can support you with issues around debt and money, including help with debt, budgeting, mortgage problems, rent arrears, and banking.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0800 144 8848

Money Saving Expert

Money Saving Expert offers advice on how to save money, including help with banking and saving, utilities and bills, travel and motoring, and insurance.

Prince’s Trust

Prince's Trust is partnered with the Money Advice Service (MAS) and offers a range of tools to support your finances.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0800 842 842

Rees Foundation

The Rees Foundation assists care experienced people to develop good budgeting and financial management skills. The foundation also offer crisis payments for care leavers in emergency situations.

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Wandsworth discretionary support grants

Our Financial Inclusion Team can provide care leavers with discretionary support grants, including housing payments, community care grants and crisis payments.

Buttle

Buttle UK offers a range of grants that are available to care experienced young people.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0330 094 5645

Turn2US

Turn2US is a national charity providing practical help to people who are struggling financially. They provide a large amount of advice on entitlements, guidance on saving money, and benefits calculators.

Supporting you to be yourself

The organisations below provide information, advice, and support for care leavers.

Family Information Service Wandsworth

The Family Information Service (FIS) provides information and assistance to parents, children, young people and professionals on support services and activities for the 0-19 years age group (25 if the young person has a special need).

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Family Nurse Partnership

The Family Nurse Partnership is an intensive, structured, home visiting programme. The service is available to first time mums and dads under the age of 20 years (care leavers aged 20-24 are also eligible).

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Children's Centres in Wandsworth

Children's Centres in Wandsworth provide a welcoming space where you and your child aged 0-3.5 years old can have fun and learn.

The Care Leaver’s Association

The Care Leaver’s Association provides support and advice for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) care leavers.

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LGBTQ+ Youth in Care

LGBTQ+ Youth in Care provides support for LGTBQ+ care experienced young people.

Become

Become is the national charity for children in care and care leavers. They offer advice and support to care experienced young people, and have specific resources for LGBTQ+ young people in care.

Contact details:

Young Stonewall

Young Stonewall supports and empowers young lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people to live free from discrimination and fulfil their potential.

Gendered Intelligence

Gendered Intelligence is a London based service that works to increase understandings of gender diversity and improve the lives of trans people.

Asylum Aid

Asylum Aid assists refugees on their applications for asylum in the UK and offers advice on related areas such as appeal against refusal, welfare rights, and housing.

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Asylum Support Tribunal

Asylum Support Tribunal considers appeals against decisions made by the UK Border Agency and is independent of government.

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Refugee Council

Refugee Council is a leading charity working with refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK. It offers advice and information for refugees.

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Caras

Caras offers a range of weekly social activities for young people throughout the year: youth clubs, arts sessions, gardening group. The youth club is a place of fun, friendship, and food for young refugees and asylum seekers aged 11 to 19.

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South London Refugee Association (SLRA)

South London Refugee Association aims to relieve poverty and distress by supporting refugees, asylum seekers and vulnerable migrants in South London. The service offers advice, information, practical help, and emotional support.

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Da'aro Youth Project

Da'aro Youth Project works to support young people arriving in the UK alone from the Horn of Africa (Eritrea, Ethiopia, Sudan and Somalia).

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Vietnamese Family Partnership

The Vietnamese Family Partnership is an organisation that supports Vietnamese people living in London.

Nene Tereza

Nene Tereza was set-up to facilitate and advance the training, education and inclusion of the Albanian community in North London.

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Support with housing and accommodation

The organisations below provide housing and accommodation support for care leavers.

Wandsworth Council housing

Find more information about housing, including learning more about the housing options available and housing and homelessness advice.

View our housing contacts. 

Citizens Advice

Citizens Advice offers a range of housing advice on areas including renting, repairs, council tax, rent arrears, discrimination, moving, improving your home, and problems where you live.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0800 144 8848

National Homeless Advice Service

National Homeless Advice Service offers advice about homelessness, including the provision of emergency housing for care leavers.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0300 330 0517

Shelter

Shelter offers advice and guidance on housing matters, including advice specific to care leavers.

Call the emergency helpline for urgent advice if you have nowhere to stay tonight or are at risk of harm or abuse in your home.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0330 053 6091 (For under 25s)
  • Emergency helpline: 0808 800 4444
  • Email: info@shelter.org

The Albert Kennedy Trust

The Albert Kennedy Trust helps young people up to the age of 25 who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or intersex and are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

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Supporting your health and wellbeing

The organisations below support care leavers with their health and wellbeing.

Frank

Talk to Frank provides information and advice on drugs and alcohol.

Contact details:

We Are With You

We Are With You provide free and confidential support to people experiencing issues with drugs, alcohol or mental health.

Sexual Health South West London

Sexual Health South West London provides information about sexual health and sexual health services to people in Wandsworth.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0333 300 2100

Samaritans

Samaritans offers a safe place for you to talk any time you like about what is getting to you.

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Talk Wandsworth

Talk Wandsworth provides talking therapies for any Wandsworth resident who needs it.

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Brook

Brook can provide information and advice on sexual health or relationships, including sex, contraception, STIs, and pregnancy.

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Mind

Brent, Wandsworth, and Westminster Mind can help support people to get new skills, learn to cope, feel confident, keep healthy, make a change, enjoy life, make new friends and get involved.

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Support with relationships

The organisations below offer relationship advice and support to care leavers.

Wandsworth L.I.N.K.S

The Wandsworth LINKS Team can support you to get in touch with people who are important to you or to manage relationships which you are finding hard.

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Relate

Relate offer mediation, advice, and counselling for all sorts of relationship issues.

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Wandsworth Community Safety team

Our Community Safety team can provide support to victims of domestic violence. The team can also signpost to other domestic abuse services for Wandsworth residents.

Contact the Community Safety Service.

Women’s Aid

Women’s Aid provides life-saving support to women experiencing domestic abuse.

Contact details:

Refuge

Refuge is a national service that supports women, children, and men experiencing domestic violence with a range of services.

Contact details:

  • Telephone: 0808 2000 247

Respect

Respect provides services and helplines for male and female perpetrators of domestic violence, for male victims of domestic violence, and for young people who are violent in the home or relationships.

Contact details:

GOV.UK

The UK Government provides guidance for the victims of domestic abuse.

Solace

Solace is a London based organisation that provides free advice and support to women and children.

Contact details:

Up to Local Offer for young people leaving care

Updated: 17/10/2024