My name is Sylvia, and I’m part of the NYAS Cardiff and Vale Advocacy Team.
I have been employed as an Advocate for approximately 20 years during which time I have gained a lot of experience working with children and young people. The most enjoyable part of my role is meeting children and young people and ensuring their voices are heard when decisions are being made relating to the care they receive.
What drew you to the work?
What drew me to the work was my passion for helping vulnerable children and young people especially when it comes to upholding Children’s Rights and ensuring that they are considered whenever issues arise. It’s a sad fact that a lot of children and young people are not aware they have rights and are able to challenge/complain about any aspect of the care they receive.
What part of working with UASC do you find the most rewarding?
I am heavily involved in working with Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children (UASC). As you can imagine, these young people have been through a very traumatic experience not only in their journey getting to the UK, but having had to leave their family and friends not knowing if they will ever see them again. Some risk human trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Some are detained by the authorities as soon as they arrive in a new country, unknowing what the future holds for them. What I find the most rewarding is supporting them and giving them a voice.
What do you find the most challenging?
For me, the most challenging part is the time it takes for social workers to feedback on issues raised on a young person’s behalf. The delay can be especially stressful and have an impact on their mental health and wellbeing as they are still coming to terms with having gone through the experiences they have, an uncertain future and the fear of being deported back to their own country.
What would you like to share with anyone keen to work in this specialism?
I have to say that working with unaccompanied asylum seekers has been a very rewarding experience for me. Unaccompanied asylum seeking young people don’t always have a voice in their country and from a very young age, they often have to work very hard helping their families rather than experience a childhoods we know it or go to school for an education. It’s so rewarding signposting them to where they can access free English lessons and to organisations that have an understanding of their religious and cultural needs as well as attending social events and activities with the opportunity of developing friendships and therefore avoiding loneliness and isolation. I have worked with many asylum-seeking young people over the years, and all have been extremely grateful for the help and support provided.
Advocacy supports these young people in all aspects of their involvement with Children’s Services just as any other young person. However there some additional checks I like to make which are normally covered by their social worker but sometimes may be overlooked. These include:
- If they practice a religion, ensuring that they have what they need.
- Ensuring any health issues they may have are being met such as registering with a doctor/ dentist and support for any mental health issues their may have from experiencing trauma.
- If the young person requested any help to contact family members and if so, has a referral been made to the British Red Cross.
This is just a very brief look at my work with unaccompanied asylum seekers and I hope it has inspired you to find out more.
You can learn more about NYAS' work with Unacommpnaied Asylum Seeking Children by taking alook at our previous campaign, Place of Safety.