Rising up for youth in care

Bunbury man Leighton Smith has forged a path to independence for young people leaving care in the South West, hosting an event last week to equip visitors with information to ensure their transition to the outside world was as smooth as possible.

The 19-year-old’s event proposal was made possible thanks to financial support for the Rise Up Regional Award, of which he was the inaugural recipient earlier this year.

An initiative of the Department of Communities Achiever Awards, sponsored by the Foster Care Association of WA, the Rise Up Regional Award helps one regional Achiever Award recipient to develop a strategy, activity or solution to benefit young people leaving care to feel part of their community.

The event aimed to build the confidence of young people moving towards independence in a fun and interactive way and highlighted that they were not alone in their experience.

The concreting apprentice used his skills to create a permanent tribute in the form of a concrete pad at Cobblestone Park, which was unveiled at the event.

A plaque will adorn the pad, which is marked with hand prints, to represent agencies and the community working together with young people and their families to have a positive impact on a young person’s future.

Mr Smith said his own experience leaving care urged him to make a difference in others lives.

“When I was younger, it would have been nice to have someone to look up to in the same kind of sense,” he said.

“If I can be that role model, then I would do it any day of the week.”

As well as information stands, the event featured live music, games and the opportunity to create lasting networks.

“What it is mostly about is all coming together and getting everyone who has been through hard stuff in their life and making it a little bit better,” he said.

Child Protection Minister Simone McGurk attended the event and highlighted the importance of youth leaving care having access to information. “We know it is a very vulnerable cohort,” she said. “Across the State there is somewhere between 200 to 230 young people leaving care each year, so it is really important that we think about what their experiences are.

“Who better to give us an insight than a young person leaving care themselves?”