GMYN care leavers draw on their lived experiences to create vital training for Greater Manchester housing providers

A group of care experienced young people from GMYN have helped create new training for staff at housing providers across Greater Manchester in a bid to challenge misconceptions and stigma that care leavers can face.

The group from Greater Manchester Youth Network’s (GMYN) Care Leaver Youth Voice Group have drawn on their own lived experiences to shape online training for Greater Manchester Housing Providers (GMHP).

Every year in Greater Manchester more than 1000 young people leave care often without access to a stable home.

Ezra was nine when he entered the care system and moved between dozens of placements – including flats as far away as Liverpool and Wales – tens of miles from everything and everyone he knew.

Ezra says he regularly experienced transphobic attacks whilst living in shared accommodation and at one point became too afraid to return to his placement and spent six months sleeping on night buses and sofa surfing at other care leavers’ homes.

Now 19, Ezra is living independently after leaving supported accommodation and bidding for social housing through his local council.

Ezra, who is part GMYN’s Care Leaver Youth Voice Group and helped develop the new training, says: “There isn’t enough support in the care system at the moment. We need safe housing just as much as anyone else. There needs to be training like this for housing providers.”

Across the UK one in five homeless people have been in care. Latest government figures show around 4,300 care leavers experienced homelessness in 2023, representing a 54% rise in the last five years.

In response GMHP have developed Care Leavers Pledges, supported and endorsed by the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and committed to training staff to provide consistent and far-reaching support for young people leaving care. The pledges commit each housing provider to offer quality, stable homes to care leavers, alongside employment and skills opportunities, mentoring, and wider support in the transition from care to living independently.

Another young person who is part GMYN’s Care Leaver Youth Voice Group and asked to remain anonymous entered the care system aged six. He was placed in multiple foster homes before being separated from his siblings and moved into a children’s home aged nine. 

At 17 the young person began bidding for his own flat after being told he had to leave the children’s home he was in due to his age.  

Remembering that time, he says: “It was quite emotional leaving a home that I’d had for nearly a decade. I had really bad anxiety attacks and got a bit of depression when I finally did leave. I’d gone from having a support network to having to try and trust new people, it was very strange. It felt like I was going to be on my own.” 

When he turned 18, he moved into a semi-independent house before finding suitable social housing. Explaining the process, he says: “You have one chance to say no to a property and then after that you have to take whatever they give you. It was stressful because it felt like I was leaving the future of where I was going to be in someone else’s hands.”

He says he initially struggled with bills. “The kids’ home gave me independence advice, but I don’t feel like it was enough. I had to do a lot myself. When I first moved in, I completely forgot about bills and I ended up getting into debt,” he says.

Now 20, the young person, like Ezra, is determined that other young people should get better support when they leave the care system and says training for housing providers is vital to ensure staff know how best to support care leavers. 

The new online training programme for GMHP staff includes quizzes, videos, and interviews that raise awareness of care leavers’ needs, challenge stereotypes and show how housing professionals, from rent support staff to maintenance teams, can support care leaver tenants.

Charlie Norman, Chair of Greater Manchester Housing Providers (GMHP), said: “GMHP understands the importance of safe and secure housing to young care experienced people, and the vital role we can play in helping them build a stable and successful future. 

“Our pledges demonstrate our ongoing commitment, and we are really excited to be working with the care leaver voice group at GMYN. Their training has already started to support staff in recognising care leavers’ specific needs and how we all have a part to play in ensuring they have dedicated support from our very first interaction. The training will be made available to all staff across our partners and the resources being developed by GMYN in addition to this will support us in ensuring that this remains one of our key priorities.”

Andy Burnham, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said: “We know life as a care leaver can be hard. Without the safety nets so many of us take for granted, such as parental support, everyday living can be a struggle when faced with barriers most people never encounter. In co-signing this commitment alongside GMHP and others, we are restating our support for Greater Manchester’s care leavers.”

Find out more about GMYN’s care experience programmes and our services  across Greater Manchester here.