Lucinda guest-edited August's newsletter
At Become, we amplify and platform young care-experienced voices. In August, Lucinda guest-edited our newsletter to care-experienced young people.
Our participation newsletter goes out once a month to care-experienced young people aged 18 – 27, it contains opportunities & updates.
Lucinda has guest-edited the August edition of our newsletter. She wrote an introduction and talked about two topics: the Cost of Living & Jo Swash’s recent documentary, Teens in Care.
Read her newsletter below and her reflections on editing. Thank you Lucinda!
I thoroughly enjoyed my experience guest-editing my first newsletter for Become. Kirsten organised a Zoom meeting with me to discuss a writing plan and she set me a lengthy deadline for a draft submission. I highly recommend the opportunity if you want to give writing a go.
– Lucinda, 26
August newsletter from Become
Hi,
My name is Lucinda, I am 26 years old, and I am a care leaver guest editing this newsletter.
I have been a member of Become for 2 years, from sharing my story for the 2021 Winter Appeal, to joining a session for the February Care Day campaign.
I liked that this challenged the public with common misconceptions of care-experienced young people by sharing messages via #KnowAboutCare and I enjoyed creating a vision board of what care means to me. I have been a part of the design group project called “Future of Care” for a year, working with researchers at the Rees Centre at the University of Oxford. I have also been given opportunities outside of the charity, such as being interviewed by the Open University on my experience transitioning out of care into adulthood.
Teens in Care
I also want to talk about the “Joe Swash: Teens in Care” documentary on the BBC. It shows that some children in care who are either transitioning into semi-independent living or turning 18 are not getting the same level of support from the care system as others, so some care leavers are left with life skills that they lack the opportunity to use now that they are living independently. Nonetheless, Joe Swash’s foster carer mum, Kiffy, shines a positive light on fostering. He says of her, “My mum’s not a rich lady, she’s not got loads of money, but she’s got loads of love and loads of time and I think that’s priceless.”
Cost of Living
In this month’s newsletter, I want to talk about today’s cost of living crisis, particularly increasing rent prices. This issue not only affects care leavers; my friends who are not care-experienced are forced to live with their parents because finding, let alone affording, a property to rent is out of their reach (just like myself). None of us can afford it, degree, no degree, part-time job, full-time job… Saving money when we can is the best that any of us can hope for right now. Become can help you get support via the following link:
Guest editing
Thank you Lucinda for being our first guest editor!
If you are interested in writing an introduction, talking about an important topic and/or reviewing a book or show you’ve seen recently then email Kirsten.
The rest of this newsletter will include opportunities with Become and other organisations.
Opportunities with Become
- Interested in TikTok and content creation? Want to celebrate care leavers, raise awareness & work with Become for National Care Leavers’ Week? Email Kirsten.
- Want to gain spokesperson experience in the media? Suzy will help build your confidence & suggest media opportunities that may be right for you.Email our media team.
I highly recommend the opportunity if you want to give writing a go.
⎯⎯ Lucinda, 26
Care-experienced? Under 27? Want to read our newsletter with opportunities & updates from Become?
