72 young people attended South Australia’s very first Leaving Care Expo to gain tools and information for the transition from care to independent living.
Hosted by CREATE Foundation (SA) in partnership with Key Assets Australia, the Expo has been described as an “amazing success” in connecting young people with services, information and resources to assist with their transition to adulthood.
"Amazing Expo. We will be attending again... My grandson found this to be a great experience to help him in the future. Well done and thank you." - Carer
At the opening of the event, CREATE welcomed Minister for Child Protection, Katrine Hildyard who gave a speech and later spoke with young people about their experiences of leaving care planning. As well as their hopes and dreams for the future.
CREATE gives our sincere thanks to the Minister for taking time to hear what the young people had to say. We look forward to exploring how the Expo can be expanded on next year.
"I think it (the Leaving Care Expo) is really great for knowing that those organisations are out there." - Young Person
Young people had 47 stalls to choose from on the day! The stalls provided different information about jobs, education, health and more, all with a focus on the transition from care.
Several attendees gave us feedback about the value of having so many vital services together under the one roof. With one carer saying it has been difficult to get her grandson to all the different services he needs in order to set him up for his transition to independence.
"So much information and support all in one place and my young person enjoyed all the goodies and activities which were a good distraction and helped make it fun and not too overwhelming for him." - Carer
While some young people were initially unsure about approaching services and asking questions, there was such positive energy on the day that everyone settled in eventually and got something out of the day to help with their transition to independence.
"(What I liked about the Expo was) knowing what supports are actually there... like health-wise, who I can reach out to... Yeah, knowing where I can go for that." - Young Person
CREATE is grateful to all of the services that put on stalls and provided young people and their carers with targeted information and resources to help with the transition to adulthood. And of course, the freebies were very much appreciated by all.
Thank you to
- Sortli app for donating an iPad as a lucky-door prize (congratulations to the young care-leaver pictured)
- Maxima for helping young people sign up for Tax File Numbers (TFN’s)
- My Ability for generously donating 3 gift packs for SA Base Camp
- Pizza Reggina for the delicious, authentic Italian woodfired pizzas
- and every other stallholder for their unique and valuable offerings for young care-leavers.
Thank you to everyone that attended South Australia’s first Leaving Care Expo. Young people told CREATE they received really important information at the Expo and that “everyone was very helpful.”
CREATE would like to pay special acknowledgement to our incredible partners, Key Assets Australia who helped us to make the Expo a reality. We hope to bring this important event back in 2025 to help more South Australian young people with their transition to adulthood.
"(It's) wonderful, knowing that we've got lots of support and connections, having each provider - employment, medical, housing - just to know that young people can have access to them is amazing!" - Young Person
