'I left a children's home – and was embraced by love'

"I have no-one else, so to feel part of a family after leaving care is making a huge difference."

Poppie was 10 when she was placed in care after a breakdown in her relationship with her mother.

She started living with a foster family, but within two years moved into a children's home in Hertfordshire where she stayed until just before her 18th birthday.

She has no contact with her birth family - but Poppie wasn't alone as she took her first steps into adulthood last year.

Brigitte Marshall, 58, and her son, Reuben, 24, who were support workers at her care home, are now there for her.

Reuben was her key worker and played a crucial role in supporting her to sit her GCSEs. Now, they accompany her to medical appointments and have helped her chose a college course. In September she will begin a health and care course and has ambitions to become a doctor.

"It means so much having Brigitte and her family in my life," says Poppie, 18, who attends family BBQs, social events and trips out with them.

She is so close to the family that she refers to Brigitte as "mummy Brigitte".

Poppie benefited from a government-funded scheme called the Finding Family programme, where she was given a coordinator by the local council who helped and encouraged the bond with the Marshall family.

But not everyone leaving care is as lucky.

For many young people, the move out of the care system is sometimes described as the "cliff edge" - it's the point at which care and support can stop almost overnight.

"The thought of her leaving and being all on her own when she left care was shocking," Brigitte says.

"When you leave you get support sorting out housing, finance and education, but you need more than that.

"I just wanted her to feel valued, loved and supported."

Brigitte has four children of her own, but thinks of Poppie as part of the family.

Mackenzie, 20, has also received support under the programme, which has been piloted since 2023.

He spent six years in care after his mother died and his relationship with his father broke down. Mackenzie was placed in a care home in Norfolk, miles away from his family in Hertfordshire.

Although he kept contact with his father while in care, his coordinator helped him establish relationships with his wider family, including aunts, uncles, cousins and a half-sister. She even organised a family get-together.

"It's wonderful to feel close to them again," Mackenzie says.

"I still have trauma from my childhood and sometimes need some time out – but there would be a big hole in my life if I didn't have the contact I do."

He says his coordinator helped provide "a safe space" to connect with his family, helping arrange and plan things.

The support Poppie and Mackenzie received in Hertfordshire is something the government is aiming to ensure is available to all 80,000 children in care.