Wales is grappling with a worsening mental health crisis. Now, young people exiting these care systems are putting a spotlight on their struggles with mental health and the lack of support they experienced during their developing years. Georgia, Brendon, James and Joanne spoke eloquently about their experiences growing up in foster and children’s homes. They highlighted the critical shortage of mental health services.
Record challenges in Georgia from a young age. She was shuffled between multiple foster and group homes, worsening her fragile mental health. Even before coming into care at age 14, Georgia had a history of self-harm. She articulated the difficulty of receiving attention for her mental health needs, stating, “In the care system you have to do quite a lot to get any sort of attention.” Tragically, it required an extreme psychotic episode for her to be believed and listened to about her pain and struggles.
“It got to the point where I basically had to have a psychotic episode before anyone could go ‘oh, you are actually serious when you say your mental health is going downhill’,” Georgia shared, reflecting on her experience in the care system.
Brendon, who was in care for six years, is now an advocate in the young care sector. Engagingly told in a loose, graphic memoir format, we accompany him as he struggles with his mental health deep into his mid-20s. “It definitely traumatised me, I’m not going to lie about that,” he admitted. Brendon explained how all of those experiences continued to affect him – making it hard to know what emotions felt like, what boundaries felt like. “It’s taken me a while to understand the trauma that’s had on me, and the effects that it’s had on my mental health even up until now,” he explained.
James entered care at only two months of age. The years he spent in care have impacted his ability to form relationships today as an adult in profound ways. He was quick to point out the lack of mental health services available to him, or his adoptive parents in helping with his transition. “When I was adopted there wasn’t any mental health support for me or my parents,” James stated. He further elaborated that the abruptness of his adoption greatly affected his emotional development: “It was really, ‘you are adopted, that’s it, off you go’ and that affected me greatly growing up.”
Joanne experienced chaos during her childhood as a result of being shuffled between foster homes. At 23 years old, she channeled her disappointment into a beautiful speech about the lack of a positive environment during her most susceptible times. “I didn’t have the support network I needed when I was at my most vulnerable point,” she revealed.
These personal accounts underscore a critical issue in the Welsh care system: the need for comprehensive mental health support tailored to the unique experiences of young people in care. Jane Dodds, a prominent advocate for mental health services, stated, “Given the trauma that they’ve had, the background that they’ve had, they should really be at the front of the queue for ongoing consistent mental support.”
In Wales, the Welsh government has published a new 10-year strategy for promoting mental health and wellbeing. This important initiative seeks to ensure the best possible services for all people affected by trauma, including care leavers. This strategy uniquely highlights the immediate importance of addressing the mental health of our most vulnerable populations. Each of these men and women had to survive a lifetime of trauma before reaching adulthood.
