Useful contacts
General
- Become Charity - the charity for children in care and young care leavers
- ChildLine - a free and confidential counselling service for anyone aged under 19 in the UK
- Children in Care Council - brings care leavers together and gets their views about the service
- Citizens' Advice - provides free confidential advice about personal and consumer issues
- Essex Police (non-emergency line) - 101
- Knife Crimes - the first and most complete resource on knife crime in the UK
- LGBT Foundation - provides support to people who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans
- Rees Foundation - offers help and advice to care experienced individuals
- Rethink Essex Advocacy - helps people when decisions are being made about their health and social care
- The Care Leavers Foundation - can provide modest grants to care leavers aged 18 to 29
- The Mix - a support service for young people in the UK
- Essex Youth Service - helps young people in Essex get the most out of school, work and life
Education, training and employment
- Adult Community Learning (ACL) - day time and evening adult learning courses
- Apprenticeships - learn more about apprenticeships including current opportunities
- Find a job - find full or part-time jobs in England, Scotland and Wales
- Indeed - Job search - search for jobs, post resumes, and research companies
- Jobcentre Plus - contact details for benefit claims and National Insurance Number queries
- Princes Trust - helps 11 to 30 year olds to try free courses and start careers
Legal
- Find a Solicitor, The Law Society - provides a free service for anyone looking for information about organisations or people providing legal services in England.
- Refugee Council - supports refugees seeking protection in the UK
- Shelter - an advice and support service for housing issues and homelessness
- UK Visas and Immigration - the UK Home Office website for visas and immigration issues
Health
- Action for Children - practical and emotional care and support for children and young people
- Brook - a free and confidential sexual health and wellbeing service
- Cruse Bereavement Care - help people with support after someone has died
- Drinkaware - information and support about the impacts of alcohol on health and wellbeing
- Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service - access to free local health services in the community
- Essex Sexual Health Service - NHS funded sexual health services for Essex
- Essex Young People's Drug and Alcohol Service - support for under 25s
- FPA- the sexual health company - information on relationships, sexual health and postnatal health and wellbeing
- FRANK - honest information about drugs
- Healthline - information about all facets of physical and mental health
- Kooth - an online mental wellbeing community
- NHS Stop Smoking service - help and support to quit smoking
- NHS - the main website for the National Health Service
- Samaritans - a 24 hour support service for anyone who needs someone to talk to
- Young Minds - mental health support for young people and their parents and carers
- Youth Access - an advice and counselling network for young people