In this blog, I am going to be talking about what personal advisors and social workers mean to me as a care experienced person who has gone through the fostering system and now entering independent living. This is my own views and opinions, but it is from the view of a care leaver.

Throughout my life, I have never really been able to have a good relationship with social workers as I always found them and felt that they were the enemy, especially when I was living at home with my parents. The fact that I only ever saw them when something bad happened, made me feel that all they wanted to do was cause sad things and even make everything a lot worse while I was feeling down and unhappy, but dear god was I wrong.

During my time in the fostering system, I could not have asked for better social workers and personal advisors, as they helped me dramatically with all the bad issues that I was dealing with including my issues with substances and more importantly my mental health, especially after the unfortunate events of my mental health deterioration before ending up in the fostering system.

Before ending up in the fostering system, my mental health was dramatically bad, all I wanted to do was hide and never talk to anyone, till one day I ended up worse than before. While I was recovering in the hospital, a social worker came to talk to me, and it was decided that it was best for me to be placed into care pretty much immediately.

During this time I was scared and frightened, but if it were not for my social workers at the time and even during my time in the system, I feel very strongly that I would not be the person I am now, as for every flaw I had and any issue I came across they were always there to pick me back up and to help me the best they can.

However, throughout my journey of being in care and moving into independence, my social workers and personal advisors throughout the years have been able to educate and show me different ways of how to live on my own by teaching me specific life skills such as my personal advisor showing me how to budget my student finance before moving to university.

So, for me, a social worker and personal advisor is not only someone who has contact with you because they have too or because it is there job, but also because they want to make a change for you. They want to help you achieve the best that you can after a horrible situation, but most of all a social worker is someone that you can always rely on. Even if they cannot help you straight away, they will always do their absolute best to help and support you whenever they are available and they will do their best to never let you down.

So, a message for care experienced people, never take your social worker or personal advisor for granted. They will always try their absolute best to look out for you and to help you, but the one thing you need to do is to let them know when you are struggling or need advice or help, as with them in your life’s things will be easier and you will be able to get all the advice and help you need before going into independence.

By Anonymous Care Experienced Blogger

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