Today marks the beginning of National Care Leavers Week, and our care-experienced community here at TACT Connect want to use this opportunity to celebrate the incredible progress members have made in co-creating our TACT Connect community.
Founded in 2018, TACT Connect has developed into a lifelong membership scheme – created by our care-experienced community, for our care experienced community. We offer an opportunity for members to build ongoing connections with others, access fun online and face-to-face events, and where needed, access help and advice.
When speaking to one of TACT Connect Advisors Ash about the scheme, she shared her excitement at the opportunity to shout out our community; “I’m excited about spreading the word about TACT Connect during Care Leavers Week, and letting others know we’re here. I want us to take advantage of this week, to take it back – after all, it’s ours!”
TACT Connect was initially created in recognition of the absence of easy-to-access support for care experienced people. We are there not only when leaving our care, but also throughout a lifetime. As of the results from a survey with TACT young people, foster carers and staff, TACT Connect was born!
When consulting with our TACT Connect Lead, Nicola Lewis, about the development of the community, Nicola shared; “TACT Connect is brilliant! Our scheme is co- created with our varied members, which reflects in how our Connect community has developed and how it is accessed. With a wide range of online interest groups, special events, various weekends away, paid and voluntary opportunities as well as consistent support, there’s a lot to like.
I feel beyond privileged to be alongside our members as they reclaim Care Leavers Week and use it to raise the presence of what they’ve created!”
In 2020, TACT Connect received a donation from the Big Lottery Fund, which has allowed their team to grow, reaching more members and providing more opportunities for the community.
“We are delighted at the progress of TACT Connect. TACT believes that we have a commitment to our children and young people for life. We have therefore created a community for life that is led, designed, and enacted by the care-experienced community. We would strongly encourage all local authorities and fostering agencies to follow suit, and we hope that one of the consequences of the recent Independent Care Review will be that all children who grew up in care can access a lifelong community if they choose to.” – Andy Elvin, TACT CEO
To find out more about TACT Connect, keep an eye out on our TACT social media platforms this week, where our Connect Team and members will be filling us in on what TACT Connect offers to our young people and adults aged 15 years old and onward!
