We are looking for Dundee families who could welcome a separated child (an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child) into a safe and supportive home environment to contact us. The families will help separated children settle into life in Scotland and prepare for independent living.
We have supported young people in Dundee for over 200 years and were registered this week as a provider of Supported Care for care leavers and unaccompanied asylum-seeking children, or separated children.
Carolina House Trust will work in partnership with Dundee City Council, harnessing our experience of supporting foster carers and supported lodgings carers, to provide family-based care for young people who need nurture and support.
Head of Operations at Carolina House Trust, Sara Lovelock, says, “We were pleased to be approached by Dundee City Council and asked to provide a Supported Care service for separated children. We are experienced in supporting carers and the team is all looking forward to using our knowledge and enthusiasm to provide safe and welcoming homes for young people who have experienced significant trauma.
I would encourage families who are interested in supporting a separated child in their home to get in touch. The commitment is different from fostering, you can go out to work, but you can still make a difference to a young person trying to start a new life here.”
Separated children are usually around 16 to 17 years old and may have faced a perilous journey to the UK to escape war, violence, persecution or famine. They may be seeking to reunite with family or to find education or employment opportunities.
The young people arriving are vulnerable due to separation from their family, the reasons for their migration and difficult and traumatic events they may have experienced while travelling.
Dundee City Council is currently offering homes to these young people from the National Transfer Scheme. Separated children who have arrived in the UK, usually via Kent, are moved to different parts of the country to be cared for.
Our team will assess, welcome and support host families to meet the unique needs of these young people.
Offering host families for separated children is a new venture for Carolina House Trust and we invite families with the capacity to visit www.carolinahousetrust.org.uk/host-families or call 01382 561279.
Host families need:
- To live in Dundee.
- To have a primary carer over the age of 21.
- A spare bedroom.
- Commitment to supporting a young person beginning a new chapter of life in Scotland.
