At some stage, almost all of us rely on the “bank of mum and dad” to thrive in life. Not having family to turn to at “fork in the road” moments can be a huge barrier to progress for the young people we support. Whether it’s applying for a piece of ID, a training course, getting transport or clothes for an interview or help with toiletries and food when things get tight, a small sum at just the right moment can mean the difference between grasping or missing an opportunity.
So we asked Cambridge Building Society to seed an alternative “bank of mum and dad” – and they’ve agreed, generously funding £22,500k over a three-year period!
This fund will enable young people without family support to grasp the opportunities before them – as well as providing a safety net in times of crisis. As well as being able to access small pots of money at critical points, it means so much that our young people feel the support of their wider community backing them as they venture into the adult world.

The “care cliff”

Many of our young people are transitioning out of the care system. Leaving care is a time of huge vulnerability, with care leavers expected to make a hasty transition to adulthood by the time of their eighteenth birthday, including changing accommodation and school/college, organising benefits, and living independently, as well as potentially needing to reconnect with family members, make new friends etc. At the same time, support drops off drastically, with financial, housing and practical support becoming discretionary or reduced. This has serious, pernicious outcomes for care leavers, with shocking statistics in the spheres of mental health, education, employment and training (EET) and homelessness:

• 45% of children in care suffer depression, rising to 72% among children in group homes (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, 2021)
• Care leavers (19-21) are three times more likely to be Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEET) and in Cambridgeshire (2020), only 44% of those leaving care aged 17-21 were in education, employment or training, 10% lower than the regional average (Cambridgeshire County Council Sufficiency Strategy). Research shows that only 22% of care leavers aged 27 are employed and among those that are, there is an average pay gap of £6,000.
• 33% of care leavers experience homelessness, 25% of the homeless population are care experienced and 1/3 of care leavers become homeless within the first two years of leaving care (“Host of indefensible system failings” damaging educational and employment outcomes for children in care – UK Parliament Committees, 7 July 2022, https://committees.parliament.uk/work/1111/childrens-homes/news/171939/host-of-indefensible-system-failings-damaging-educational-and-employment-outcomes-for-children-in-care/)

Young people leave care not only carrying histories of trauma but also lacking the support they need to thrive.  This is also true of many of our young people who are not formally “care experienced”.

Financial safety net

Alongside the lack of emotional and practical safety net, the lack of financial safety net is a real barrier to progress and independence, causing young people to miss promising opportunities and potentially to fall through the cracks, quickly spiraling into homelessness – simply for the want of a few pounds at the right time. Concrete Rose aims to broaden the safety net for care leavers and young people without sufficient family support by providing alternative relational and structural support mechanisms that enable them to step into a better future.
To date, Concrete Rose has stepped in to address these financial barriers either by buying needed items/services from financial reserves or desperately seeking adhoc support from private donors (thank you – you know who you are!). Over the past year we’ve covered:

• Emergency housing costs to prevent homelessness (x3)
• Emergency food provision/vouchers (x8)
• Emergency rental payment to prevent eviction (x1)
• Initial rental deposits (x3)
• Course fees e.g. first aid, CSCS, food hygiene, driving theory (x6)
• Transport costs e.g. train/taxi fares (x12)
• ID costs passport/driving licence (x4)
• Furniture/home furnishings e.g. duvet/pillows (x4)
• Clothes e.g. for interviews (x2)
• Equipment e.g. glasses (x1)
• Legal costs i.e. initial consultancy fees before legal aid is available (x1)

Case studies

A was made homeless at 17 and lived with supported lodgings hosts for two years. She made strong progress and completed a Level 3 engineering qualification and found part-time work. A would like to apply for university (hoping to study Crime and Investigative Studies). However, given her Level 3 from college is not an A Level, she needs to do a higher education diploma. Although she has enrolled herself onto an access course, the fees are a challenge for her.

H, a care-leaver, successfully completed a university degree and found a job with an engineering firm in Waterbeach. However, as his university accommodation ended, he was unable to find the money upfront (including deposit and rent) for a private room. With housing a priority, he was forced to forgo the job opportunity and sofa surf with a friend in Manchester.

O successfully transitioned from our supported lodgings provision to university. Although we successfully applied for a Garrett University Scholarship, finances were still very tight. Over the course of her studies we have, from time to time, had to supply Aldi food vouchers to help her get by as well as buy a duvet, pillows and bed sheets when she moved into her own shared student house.

That’s why our alternative ‘bank of mum and dad’ is so much needed – and we now have a pot available when a crisis hits or when small sums are required to meet a particular need or enable an opportunity.

Could you contribute to the “bank of mum and dad” fund?

The funds seeded by The Cambridge Building Society will be ring-fenced, and we invite other donors to top-up the starting pot. 

Safeguards are in place to ensure that the money is wisely allocated, including:

1. clear criteria disseminated to staff around the purpose of the fund (i.e. to alleviate crisis or overcome a barrier to progress)
2. funds being used to pay for specific goods or services and directly to the supplier (never to individuals)
3. checks to ensure that funds cannot be acquired from alternative sources

If you’d like to contribute to the “bank of mum and dad” fund, perhaps in recognition of the support you yourself received as a young person, please visit our “Local Giving” page, where you can also include GiftAid if you’re a UK tax payer: https://localgiving.org/fundraising/bankofmumanddad