Early deaths among care leavers revealed
Early deaths among care leavers revealed
Freedom of Information has revealed it’s latest figures. The figures show that far more young people who grew up in care are more likely to die in early adulthood than other young people.
The report showed that during 2012 and 2016 90 people who left care died when they were 19, 20 or 21. “Care leavers make up 1% of the population at these ages, but make up around 7% of the deaths.”
According to the government, they are going to invest £10m in support for care leavers. Although no exact comparison can be made for the years between 2012 and 2016, it has shown that they are seven times more likely to die between the ages of 18 and 21.
The key contributory factors to this are the inability to access physical and mental healthcare. “One young man described being ‘palmed off with pills’ when he tried to get mental health support.”
“One young man described being ‘palmed off with pills’ when he tried to get mental health support. Colin Raggett, 27, explained how, after leaving care, he became reliant on drugs. ‘After care, I was all along, I was in a lot of debt, and I was constantly going out trying to make money, committing crimes to fund my drug habit.’ He made several suicide attempts and during his last attempt. it was a chance intervention that saved his life.”
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