Q. How do I go about becoming a Supported Carer?
A. Freephone 0800 027 7954 for a chat with one of our friendly Social Workers. They will send you a DVD with further information. All of our Supported Carers go through an assessment procedure and once they have been approved they receive ongoing support from the Supported Care Team.
Q. What do Supported Carers do?
A. Our Supported Carers enjoy the company of young people and have a spare room a care-leaver can live in while learning the skills they will need for independent living.
Q. Why do young people need Supported Care?
A. Our young people have previously been looked after and accommodated by Glasgow City Council. As they have often been living in a residential unit they need extra support as they move towards independent living. Our young people prepare to move into Supported Care around the age of 16. They stay for varying lengths of time, from a few months to when they are in their early 20’s and have completed their education.
Q. What kind of support do young people need?
A. Most of us can remember what we were like at 16 and the thought of living alone at this age can be very daunting and isolating. Various kinds of support are needed to prepare our young people for independent living. Some of these are the practical skills they would have learned if they had grown up in an ordinary family home, cooking, budgeting, and contributing to family life. However, many of our care-leavers have had a difficult time and their Supported Carers are also someone they can talk to when they feel upset or lonely. Our care-leavers will be starting their first job or going to college and they are often lacking in confidence. Supported Carers will offer encouragement and advice.
Q. What kind of people are Supported Carers?
A. Supported Carers come from a variety of backgrounds. They can be married or single, working or retired, childless or have children still living at home. Some Carers have children who have left home and they miss the company of young people. We need a variety of Carers in order to meet our young people’s individual needs.
Q. Do I get to choose the young person who will live in my home?
A. Leaving Care Services pride themselves on their ‘matching’ abilities. For example one couple have 3 grown-up daughters so are used to looking after girls. Another Carer is looking forward to having grandchildren and is currently supporting a care-leaver and her new baby. We have a single Carer who says he was a ‘naughty boy’ when young ‘in the 1960’s’! He now is matched with a care-leaver who we worried was at risk of offending. After the matching process there is a period of induction where everyone can get to know each other over a few weeks.
Q. Do I need qualifications and do I get paid?
A. You need an interest in the welfare of young people but no formal qualifications. You will receive an allowance for each young person. Currently this is £244.61 per week. In some very particular situations when a young person has additional needs we pay an extra weekly allowance of £140.
