Falkirk council told about the impact on young people of growing up in care

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Powerful words from young people who have been in care in Falkirk led to members of Falkirk Council unanimously backing a change that they hope will lead to major changes across the UK.

Councillors agreed today (Wednesday) that being care experienced should be considered a 'protected characteristic', adding to things such as age, disability, race, religion and gender, which have protection against discrimination through the 2010 Equality Act.

Three members of Falkirk Champions Board, which gives a voice to people who have been or are in care locally, were the first group of care experienced people to address a Scottish council on the issue. READ MORE: Falkirk councillors back call for 'fast and fair compensation' over unjust pension changes They were backing a national campaign that hopes to see the UK legislation also change.Terry Galloway, who is spearheading the national campaign, joined the meeting online.

He spoke powerfully about the impact of the care system on him and his family, telling members that by the time he left care he had lived in over a hundred places.While he did make a life for himself he watched his siblings turn to drugs and alcohol because of the trauma they had been through.At a funeral, when his sister told him that she thought she'd be the next to die, he promised that they would use their trauma to try and change the system "so that other people didn't suffer the same fate as we had".His sister did die just a few months later, killed by a violent boyfriend.