Since the meet up at the beginning of the year things have certainly improved. Mary and I have been in contact quite often, without having to ask for permission of course. This wouldn’t have been allowed before! The transition was actually quite fast and smooth, it seemed like it happened over night and everything was given the go ahead. Since then I have been in contact personally with various members of staff with whom I had formed a bond with but wasn’t allowed to keep in touch. One thing that has been pointed out though, is that it only seems to be the females who keep in touch. I never hear from any of the male staff at their own will, well that’s not true, Paul phones occasionally from work which is nice! Other than that though I don’t hear from any other male members of staff very often, which is a shame because they had a big impact on my life! The male members of staff only ever phone when they are asked to by a female member of staff. It has been suggested that the men may feel under pressure to keep contact going because the women members of staff choose to. I feel that this shouldn’t be the case, if they do not want to keep it going then they shouldn’t have to. It could be that it may seem improper for male staff to visit a young female care leaver, which is ridiculous but understandable! So all in all things have improved but it still has a long way to go, hopefully things continue to progress quickly for the sake of the young people and the staff.
Shannon McGeachan, Care Leaver.