Helping Care Leavers Survive Financial Hardship

Aim

Support Rees Foundation in Stride for Success - empowering Care Leavers to thrive. Every step you take helps build brighter futures!

Meet Jack. He’s studying hard and determined to succeed, but without family to fall back on, every bill feels overwhelming. When costs rise, there’s no one to call for help. He’s had to skip meals, worry about heating, and stretch every pound just to stay afloat.

Jack’s story isn’t unusual. Many care leavers face adulthood without a safety net. With the right support, budgeting guidance, crisis intervention and practical financial skills, they can move from constant stress to stability, confidence and control over their future.

Jack’s goal is to complete his degree and build a stable, meaningful career. While the pressure to take any low-paid job just to survive is constant, he knows that finishing his education is his best route to long-term security. Without a permanent address or family safety net, the path forward feels uncertain and fragile. The financial strain and emotional weight of doing it alone threaten to put his future at risk. This is where Rees Foundation steps in.

Rees Foundation:

Rees Foundation exists to support people like Jack. We provide vital guidance and practical financial support to care leavers, those who have grown up in the care system without the safety net of a loving family. Our vision is simple but powerful: every care leaver should have the opportunity to succeed in life, no matter the challenges of their past.

The Impact of Financial Hardship on Care Leavers

Jack’s story is not unique; it reflects the challenges many care leavers face. Financial hardship affects this vulnerable group in multiple ways:

• Limited Support Networks: Without strong family connections, care leavers have few people to turn to in a financial crisis.
• Early Financial Independence: Care leavers must achieve independence by 18, often without the guidance or resources their peers take for granted.
• Trauma and Adversity: Many have experienced adverse childhood events that make financial stress even harder to navigate.
• Mental Health Strain: The pressure of living costs compounds existing mental health challenges, increasing anxiety, isolation and risk of crisis.

Supporting care leavers with financial guidance, practical skills, and emotional support is essential to help them navigate these pressures and build secure, independent futures. 

What Your Donation Supports

• Help in a Crisis – Your donation can help provide immediate support to care leavers facing financial hardship, alongside our CEP Budget Toolkit and practical Financial Management sessions to help them regain stability.
• Emotional Health and Peer Support – We aim to offer vital emotional wellbeing support and peer networks, helping care leavers navigate the unique challenges of independence, reduce isolation, and build confidence for the future.
• Warm Spaces at Rees Cafes – Safe, welcoming environments offering a free hot drink at one of our nationwide Cafes, peer support, and a sense of community.
• Financial Education and Skills – To provide care leavers with the knowledge, resources, and practical training they need to manage money confidently. Through budgeting workshops and debt awareness sessions, we empower them to make informed financial decisions, build stability, and gain the confidence to thrive independently.

 Jack’s story is just one of many, but with your support, it can become a story of rising above hardship. Rees Foundation dedicated to breaking down barriers for care leavers, and your support can transform lives. Together, we can ensure that care leavers like Jack have the guidance, skills, and opportunities they need to overcome financial and personal barriers and achieve their goals.

Join us in this vital work and help transform lives. Donate today to empower care leavers to build confidence, financial independence, and brighter futures.

Names and images have been changed to protect privacy and confidentiality.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made