Lifelong Links

Lifelong Links is designed for young people in care or who have experienced care and helps to find and bring you together with people who care about you. These could be familiar faces, like family, friends or former teachers or social workers, or even relatives you haven’t met yet. Lifelong Links can help you:

• reconnect with family members and other trusted adults in a safe way.
• learn about your family history
• provide you with supportive, stable relationships during your time in care and beyond.

You can take part in Lifelong Links if you are a young person living in care or a care leaver under 25 years old.

Every Lifelong Links journey is as unique as you are. Our coordinators always listen and will aim to achieve your ambitions at a pace that suits you.

Lifelong Links for Children in Care

Lifelong Links is for young people in care. It helps find and bring together people who care about you. This can be people you know well, people you have not seen for a while (like a teacher, childminder or carer) and even relatives who you have not yet met.

Watch a video about Sadie's story:

The Pledge is our promise to children and young people about what they can expect from us in the local council when they are in care and when they leave care. You can watch a series of videos for children about our pledge to children in care and care experienced young people.

Lifelong Links for Care Experienced young adults

Lifelong Links is all about connecting you with those who care about you. It can help you:

• reconnect with family members and other trusted adults in a safe environment including people you're familiar with, those you haven't seen in a while, or even relatives you've never had the chance to meet
• discover more about your family's story and history
• Lifelong Links aims to provide you with strong, supportive relationships after your time in care, offering stability and understanding along the way

Watch a video about Lifelong Links for Care Leavers:

The Pledge is our promise to children and young people about what they can expect from us in the local council when they are in care and when they leave care. You can watch a video about our pledge to children in care and care experienced young people. 

You can also visit the new Graduating Care South West website.

Lifelong Links for Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children

Before a Lifelong Links referral for an unaccompanied asylum-seeking child (UASC) can be made, you must first receive independent legal advice around any potential impact the Lifelong Links work may have on your current or future asylum or immigration claim. The cost of this legal advice will be covered by either legal aid or us and you can be supported to make this appointment.

 We have the same care planning duties to unaccompanied children as to the other children in our care, including facilitating contact with family members and other connected persons. This could be anyone you may wish to remain in contact with or reconnect with. However, identifying anyone in the UK or overseas (particularly in your home country) may have an impact on your personal safety, and may also have an impact on your application for asylum or leave to remain in the UK. 

The legal advice is to ensure that you can make an informed decision on whether to proceed with Lifelong Links. Please be aware that the information shared with us during the Lifelong Links process may need to be shared with the Home Office. Your solicitor will be able to advise you based on your individual situation. 

Please be assured that no Lifelong Links work would ever proceed without your consent and would always be done in your best interests.

How to take part

You can take part in Lifelong Links if you:

• are a young person in care and have consent from a person with parental responsibility. (Find out more about what parental responsibility is)
• are leaving care or are a care experienced young adult aged 18 to 25

What happens next

We will give you a trained Lifelong Link Coordinator who will:

• talk to you about who you want to build relationships with
• help you complete activities to learn more about your background. This might include drawing a family tree, map where you have lived and attended school
• try to meet with your parents and find the people you want to have in your life, if it is safe to do so
• always keep you, your carer and your social worker updated
• arrange a Lifelong Links Family Group Conference with you and all the people who care about you including your carer, social worker, family and friends and most importantly yourself
• create a journey book containing your plan, photos, messages, and important details about your life

While we can't promise there won't be challenges, coordinators work hard to minimise them. They communicate with you and your family to understand expectations and come up with realistic support plans.

Our stories

View Kaitlin's story

View Sandy's story

Abby's story

Get in touch

If you have any questions or would like to chat with the Lifelong Links team please contact us using our online form.