Local Offer for Care Leavers

Find out about the support we offer young people leaving care

Staying healthy

Your personal adviser will help you register with a GP and attend appointments with you as appropriate to access the National Health Service (NHS).

Each Leaving and After Care team has a mental health coordinator who can support you with your emotional wellbeing and help you access local services if needed. Your personal adviser can introduce you to them.

A Health Passport containing your key health information is given to you by the NHS looked after children’s nurse as you reach 18. If you misplace this document, you can ask your personal adviser to support you in requesting a copy.

We can also:

  • support and offer advice and guidance on who can help you with sexual health, healthy teeth, drugs and alcohol and generally looking after yourself
  • help you with information on how to access prescriptions
  • support you when you are changing from children’s mental health services to adults
  • putting you in touch with health services for young people (this is the Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service run by HCRG Care Group)

Staying active

The Leaving and After Care service has a good relationship with Active Essex. Your personal adviser will be able to help you access support through Active Essex. This includes:

  • discounted memberships for care leavers across Essex for leisure and gym facilities
  • funding for personal bursaries for care leavers to spend how they like to support them into activity
  • links and opportunities to help care leavers get into community sport and physical activity
  • signposting to free and low-cost opportunities across the county
  • supporting care leaver groups which include physical activity
  • introductions and links to the sport and physical activity sector for work experience, volunteering and paid work opportunities

There's also other support you can access yourself on the Active Essex website: