Why I started ‘From Care To Where?’
Hello, and welcome to From Care To Where?
If you’re new here, you might be wondering what From Care To Where? is all about, and if you have already listened to an episode of From Care To Where? (thank you!) and are interested in learning more about why I started this podcast, here’s a little backstory for you.
I’m Christel Dee, a London-based content creator, digital marketer, presenter and author. You may know me as the former host of Doctor Who: The Fan Show, or a member of the online comedy troupe FiveWhoFans. Over the past few years, I have had roles within digital marketing at The Connected Set, BBC Studios, the Civil Service and most recently, Hadean, a tech startup. I have also co-authored a story book and an activity book on Doctor Who and have written several features on cosplay (the practice of dressing up as a character from a work of fiction) for Doctor Who Magazine.
One aspect of my life that I haven’t really talked much about is my time spent in foster care. It's a topic that I have wanted to delve into for some time but I hadn’t been sure how best to approach it. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has brought the topic to the forefront of my mind, and over the past few months I have found myself thinking more about my own past, what family means to me and how other care leavers have been coping during this global crisis.
When doing research for this project, I learnt that every year around 32,000 children and young people will enter the English care system. I was shocked to read about how poor outcomes can be, with 39% of care leavers aged 19-21 not in employment, education or training (compared to 12% of all 19-21 year olds), and looked after children four times more likely to be involved in the Criminal Justice System.
Today, with so much of the conversation about care leavers being focussed on how young people are being failed by the system, I feel it’s more important than ever to share positive stories of those who have succeeded despite a difficult start in life. We also need to learn from the voices of care leavers with the aim of finding ways to improve the experiences of looked-after children during and following their time in care.
This is what prompted the idea for From Care To Where?, a podcast that shares the inspirational stories of care leavers. Each episode features a care experienced person reflecting on their journey through the care system, the challenges they faced and how they got to where they are today. This podcast aims to address the lack of positive role models for care leavers by showcasing some of the incredible achievements by those who have experienced growing up in local authority care, as well as providing an insight into what it’s like to be a care leaver for those interested to learn more about this issue.
Listen to episode 1 here: