Young people leaving care don’t have to face the world alone, not when they have literally bags of support from Comfort Cases UK and Vodafone’s everyone.connected initiative.
Setting out into the world as a young person, fresh out of school or college and away from home for the first time, can be daunting at the best of times. It can be much more difficult though for young people leaving care, especially as they typically face challenges not faced by their peers who haven’t been in care.
Comfort Cases UK is a charity that supports children, from newborns to 21-year-olds , who are in or have experienced care. They do so in a very specific but highly considered and highly considerate way – with bespoke bags of belongings. As many children in care have to move home, often at short notice, in stressful circumstances and more than once, they may have no choice but to carry their few belongings with them in something as impersonal as a black bin bag.
Comfort Cases UK aims to avoid this by providing them with a rucksack or duffel bag that they can call their own. This may sound modest, but such bags can be emotively personal in addition to being prosaically utilitarian. In protecting their belongings from damage or loss, the bags can offer the kids a sense of safety and security when they need it most.
Helping Ukrainian refugee kids through the power of reading
Vodafone's charities.connected free SIMs initiative is helping to connect digitally excluded people with the support of its 1,500-plus charity partners.
These ‘comfort cases’ include donated items, everything from books and toys to toiletries and blankets. For older children and young adults transitioning to life outside care, SIM cards from Vodafone’s everyone.connected initiative are provided alongside the bags from Comfort Cases. Free for six months, these SIMs come with unlimited calls and texts, as well as 40GB of mobile data each month.
Comfort Cases UK works with several partner agencies and their support workers. Their verdict has been unanimous: “These SIM cards are amazing and do have the biggest impacts on our young people in positive ways.” While the young people helped by Comfort Cases UK wish to remain anonymous, they’ve told their stories to Vodafone UK News through their support workers.
He has moved into his own flat and wants to become a dentist, but he was unable to study at home on his laptop as he couldn’t afford home broadband. The everyone.connected SIM helped him through a tough time and he’s now budgeting to be able to afford more mobile data on his own SIM.
She is currently living in supported accommodation, while waiting for a social care assessment. Using the SIM, she was able to stay in touch with her GP and local Jobcentre, access her Universal Credit and make urgent calls – whenever needed – to us her support worker.
As a refugee, his understanding of and integration into UK life has been made easier by the SIM as he’s able to use Google Translate freely. Plus, being able to contact his support network on WhatsApp has eased his sense of isolation.
She was locked out of both her bank account and her Universal Credit journal, which she was only able to get back into with the help of the SIM.
Although working part-time, he struggled with paying the bills for his new flat. With the SIM, he was able to get advice and help by sending copies of bills to his support worker over WhatsApp. It also helps with his studies and in keeping him connected to his support network.
Fear, uncertainty and doubt: why some people don't have digital skills
No matter why people don’t have digital skills, the Good Things Foundation - one of Vodafone's everyone.connected charity partners - helps people learn the basics, so they can make the most of the online world.
Sarah Jacoby, CEO of Comfort Cases UK, said: “Our adult care-experienced community often reflect on the years when they ‘left care’ as a really challenging period of adjustment without the support and guidance of a family network to fall back on.
“Comfort Cases UK can provide comfort and essentials at this point, but in partnership with Vodafone, together we also provide a genuine lifeline to hundreds of care leavers and unaccompanied asylum-seeking young people all over the UK.
“With National Care Leavers Week approaching, from 28th October to 2nd November 2024, the increase in demand for SIMs serves a timely reminder of just how hard life can be without being connected, especially in a tech-driven world.”
Make a donation now to Comfort Cases UK.
Charities can apply for SIM cards from everyone.connected, either for those they help or for themselves, by using the charities.connected webpage.
