Show Us
You Care
A call to action from care experienced young people.
Why we wrote it
VOYPIC is the charity for children and young people with a lived experience of care in Northern Ireland. It has been over 10 years since the last VOYPIC manifesto (Do You Care?) was written. Some things have changed, but lots of the same challenges are still here. So we decided it was time to speak up again.
Working with staff at VOYPIC, we started by looking at the old manifesto to see what still matters. Then we helped design a survey for other young people in and leaving care. Hundreds of us shared our views. After that, we held focus groups: real conversations about what life is like for us. The VOYPIC Young Reps took all the results, picked out the most important things, and helped create this new call to action – Show Us You Care.
We need action, not just talk
Many of us advised the Independent Review of Children’s Social Care Services, published in 2023. We shared our stories and our ideas, and helped shape the recommendations. We were proud to be part of it, but not much has changed since. We need action, not just talk.
This call to action is for everyone: politicians, social workers, policy makers, teachers, carers, youth workers, the media and the public. We all need to work together to make things better for care experienced young people.
Calls to Action
The 12 Main points from Show Us you Care
A single NI-wide agency for children and families
“Everyone in care and leaving care should get the same standard of support, no matter where they live.”
Family time matters
“Plan our family time with us – who we see, when, where, and how often. If we don’t want contact with family, that should be respected too.”
A safe place to call home
“We want safe, stable homes where we feel cared for, respected and comfortable… When we feel safe, we can thrive.”
A right to independent advocacy
“We want everyone to have the right to an independent advocate – someone who will speak up, with or for us as we need.”
People we can count on for support
“We want there to be enough social workers to us to be able to reach them when we need them, not just during office hours.”
Connections in care and community
“We want more ways to meet, share and support each other and to feel part of the wider community too.”
Learning, education and training
“We want to have real choices about our education, and feel confident about our futures. That means the right support at the right time.”
Leaving care to full independence
“We want to leave care when the time is right for us. That means flexible support that follows us into adulthood, no matter what path we take.”
Health and wellbeing
“We want real support for our mental health, without a long wait… Therapeutic care shouldn’t be something we have to fight for.”
Taking part – hobbies, interests, travel & more
“We want to enjoy hobbies and new interests. That means having the resources and encouragement to get involved.”
Proud of us
“We want the public to understand that care doesn’t define us and that we deserve the same chances as anyone else.”
Show us you care
“We want solid evidence that change is happening… and making things better for young people in and leaving care.”
Read this. Hear us. And Show Us You Care!
We’ve had enough of being left out or let down. We know things can change, because we’ve seen it happen. But we need people to step up.
Your voice can create change
Read the full call to action, and find out how young people are shaping care in Northern Ireland and how you can get involved.