Celebrating National Care Leavers Month

At One Manchester, we’re proud to offer dedicated support to our care-experienced customers to help them boost their confidence and support them through the transition into independent living. We do this by offering one to one support, running regular social sessions like our walking group and our new weekly coffee mornings, we also offer support with employment and training, and hands on guidance with any money on tenancy related questions. 

Are you a care- experienced customer? Check out what we’ve got coming up this National Care Leavers Month.

This National Care Leavers Month we want to get to know you better, that’s why, we’re hosting two coffee mornings. If you’re a care-experienced customer at One Manchester, you’re invited to our ‘Rising Coffee morning chat’s’, where you’ll:

• Receive free snacks and a drinks voucher
• Meet the ‘Staying Close’ team
• Find out more about peer mentor and walking groups
• Get support with employment, education, training and volunteering
• Talk through tenancy challenges (such as ASB and settling into your home)
• Get support to understand and manage financial challenges (such as managing arrears or Universal Credit)
• Let us know what you need from us

Our free coffee mornings will take place in Gorton and Hulme – we hope to see you there!

If you’ve got any questions about attending please get in touch using our Contact Us form.

Jack transitioned to independent living and moved into his One Manchester home this year after sofa surfing for two years and experiencing seven placement moves. Since, he’s reported feeling like he ‘has his identity back’ and is extremely proud of his home. He keeps his property in a great condition and proactively reports any repairs he may need, as well as actively participates in customer consultation meetings. 

Jack told us that having a place to truly call his own where ‘no one can throw him out’ has been life changing – combined with the unwavering support of his Neighbourhood Officer and our Staying Close Coordinator, it’s given him the stability and confidence he needed to progress in his journey towards independence. These positive relationships have helped him to rebuild trust in people, as well as to have the confidence to report any issues he may have with his home , highlighting the importance of our Staying Close programme and the impact our colleagues have had on our care-experienced customers.

Moving into your own place is a big and exciting step, especially for our care-experienced young people. It can also feel lonely once the boxes are unpacked and the front door closes. That’s something we take seriously, and it’s why we started our Care Leavers walking group. 

The group is open to care-experienced customers aged 18–25 and is all about bringing people together. It’s a chance to get outside, meet others, and feel more connected to the local community.

Over the past few months, we’ve seen friendships blossom, with group members swapping stories, sharing money-saving tips, and supporting each other in ways that really lift their wellbeing.

Throughout the year, we’ve seen first hand how our care-experienced customers have found a community and a support system within our walking group. The group has also helped us to get to know our care-experienced customers and better understand the challenges they face, their needs, and what support they would benefit from.

Interested in joining our walking group? You can get in touch with Care Leaver Mentor, James Lowe just fill out our Contact Us form and he’ll get back to you.