National Care Leavers’ Week from 25th October to 1st November is an opportunity to celebrate the incredible young people we represent and to shout about their achievements.
The theme for this year urges us to show how much we CARE by:
Celebrating care leavers
Amplifying their voices
Raising awareness of challenges faced
Encouraging change in policy and practice
At Live Unlimited we are immensely proud of the number of care leavers we’ve supported over the past five years through our range of schemes which focus on developing new skills, creating opportunities, and reducing isolation. You can read our latest impact report here.
Please read some stories of two of the incredible young people we've supported through our Driving Ahead scheme below.
‘Now I can move towards my dream of becoming a vet!’
Shai, an aspiring vet, started his learning journey with Live Unlimited’s Driving Ahead scheme in early 2023. At first, like many young people he struggled to secure a driving test slot due to the DVSA test shortage and ended up travelling 45-minutes by bus each way to take his lessons. Despite trying really hard, he failed his test first time.
Although failure knocked Shai’s confidence, he came back even stronger and was motivated to pass.
Thanks to Shai’s determination, and our support, he was able to finally secure another test date, however this was at an unfamiliar test centre 13 miles away. Despite having to swap over to a different instructor, car and new test route he passed his driving test with flying colours!
Shai now has a car and says having his licence will ensure he can commute to his uni placement when he is studying, as well as help him secure a job and expand his opportunities when he's finished his studies.
Shai said; "I’m excited to enjoy the freedom that driving gives you. Now I can live life to the fullest! Thank you Live Unlimited. "
We are super proud of Shai and are happy we helped aid Shai while he pursues his career goal of becoming a vet.
‘I passed my test after one lesson with a new instructor and car!’
Ismail a trainee mechanic, enrolled onto the scheme in July 2022. Despite having a great experience with the AA driving school, just two weeks before his test his instructor suffered a medical emergency which left him instructorless.
Ismail was forced to take his test with a last-minute car hire company which unfortunately led to him failing. Despite this, Ismail remained undeterred and rebooked another test straight away.
We found him a different instructor and after just one lesson before his test he passed! We are super proud of Ismail's resilience and determination in achieving his goal of learning to drive which will no doubt be a huge bonus for his future career.
Ismail says: "I'm glad that despite the issues I had I was able to pass my test. I am so happy and excited to buy a car in the future and now feel very comfortable to progress with my studies.
“I would like to say thank you so much to Live Unlimited, I really appreciate this opportunity."
It is great to know that our work continues to open doors for society's most vulnerable young people!
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