Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham has joined forces with Greater Manchester Housing Providers (GMHP) to provide suitable housing to care leavers in addition to support to transition from living in care to living independently.
The coalition is made up of 27 housing organisations who own and manage over 250,000 homes in the area across Greater Manchester.
The organisations have made a commitment to offer support to care leavers on issues including managing money, rights around repairs and learning the skills to maintain a safe home and avoid the risk of homelessness, Burnham said.
Volunteering, employment and skills training will also be offered to all care leavers, alongside a peer mentor to help them start a career, with all care leavers offered a guaranteed interview for jobs they apply for with the organisations.
Providers have also agreed to ask suppliers to sign a pledge offering similar opportunities.
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Burnham, said: “Good housing is critical to a happy and healthy life. It is the foundation that everyone needs and insecure housing is at the root of so many of our problems as a society.
“We know life as a care leaver can be hard. Without the safety nets so many of us take for granted, such as parental support, everyday living can be a struggle when faced with barriers most people never encounter.
"In co-signing this commitment alongside Greater Manchester Housing Providers and others, we are restating our support for Greater Manchester’s care leavers. It is also why a year ago, the Greater Manchester Combined Authority introduced the care leavers guarantee and a Common Core Offer, backed by more than half a million pounds of government funding. I want Greater Manchester to act as the parents of all our city-region’s care leavers.”
Last month, the Care Leaver Covenant, a Department for Education funded initiative, called on all local authorities to offer a “whole council approach” to young people leaving care.
The covenant has recently launched a new Social Value Toolkit, in collaboration with law firm Trowers and Hamlins, to assist councils to support care leavers through the creation of a set of social value objectives.
The covenant works with private, public and voluntary sector organisations to provide opportunities for care leavers including employment, education and training, safety and security, health, financial independence and independent living.
The initiatives come following the closure of a government consultation into unregulated supported accommodation.
The consultation proposes banning such provision for under-16s, however, the sector is split over calls to introduce a blanket ban for all young people up to 18.
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Children in care and care leavers charity Become said in its response that 6,000 16-18 year-olds should not be placed in unregulated settings, which so often don’t provide the security or support that they need and leave them at greater risk of exploitation.
Katharine Sacks-Jones, chief executive of Become, said: “Children in care have the right to be safe, loved and cared for, like any other child, and it’s the government’s responsibility to make sure this happens as their corporate parent. This consultation is a critical opportunity to rectify the deeply unacceptable situation with unregulated placements.
“Basic national standards for independent and semi-independent accommodation risk a ‘two-tier’ system for children in care, with those in foster placements and residential homes enjoying a more supportive and caring environment. We want to see revised proposals that listen to the voices of care-experienced children and young people and are in their best interest.”
