Spark Sisterhood
Spark Sisterhood was established to provide support and assistance for young women in and leaving care, to break free from cycles of poverty and abuse. It was set up by a woman with lived experience of the care system, who now herself fosters other children in Somerset. She aims to work with young people to ensure they are provided with kindness, care, and are better prepared for adulthood and the next stage in their lives.
The organisation applied for funding for a pilot programme that aims to prepare young women in the care system for the future. A grant of £12,000 was agreed by Trustees. The pilot aims to offer mentorship and one-to-one support, helping the women with practical employment skills and increasing their confidence in accessing jobs or apprenticeships. The programme aims to help an initial ten young women, who will then form a peer support group to provide ongoing support and reduce isolation. Following the pilot, the scheme will be evaluated, rolled out with a further ten programmes a year. Outcomes from the work are that young women leaving care will learn employability and life skills, and that the work will feed into research on how to improve the lives of girls leaving care by Harvard and Oxford Universities.
