Please understand living in care can provide a safety net for many children and young people escaping abuse and neglect but the experience of it comes with its own challenges, which can also cause damage to these already broken children and young people. Their pain must be acknowledged and steps must be taken to address the pain they have experienced.

Living in care

An unkempt teddy bear

The sound of pots clanking

Sandpaper

Sharp, raw, painful

It is a bumpy carpet

White noise

You think its quiet

Its always noisy

A toy rollercoaster of emotions

A knife, a gun

But living in care has some surprising warmth

Like the swan from the ugly duckling

Sometimes there is sunshine

Sometimes the teddy bear smiles

This poem was written by a group of care experienced young people who are working with Leap on a co-production project