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The Guardian - Back to homeThe Guardian

Social life blog

A space for people working in or with social care to write about a personal issue relating to their work. If you would like to write a blog for the series, please email socialcare@theguardian.com

4 November 2020

  • A poster depicting the colours of a rainbow, being used as symbols of hope during the COVID-19 pandemic

    Our adult son has a learning disability. How will he cope as coronavirus surges?

    Madeleine Cowley
    Families with vulnerable sons and daughters have been left adrift during the pandemic. We fear what will come next

26 October 2020

  • Gavin Williamson, Secretary of State for Education, arriving at the Department of Education.

    Pandemic or no pandemic, young people should not 'age out' of care

    Krish Kandiah
    Care leavers are vulnerable to exploitation and destitution. They deserve protection after the threat of the virus has receded

8 September 2020

  • topping up a pay as you go Mains electric digital prepaid card credit meter

    As a care leaver, I've felt neglected and unsupported during the Covid crisis

    Kerrie Portman
    When I got sick and had to self-isolate, I was without help. My electricity was cut off, I ran out of food and I had to skip meals

7 August 2020

  • girl standing near window

    Half-century is an opportunity to hail social work's role in society's changes

    Ray Jones
    A decade of austerity has heaped pressure on the profession, but it’s important to celebrate its achievements

5 August 2020

  • woman using phone

    Parenting a disabled child is lonely – so I built an app to help us find each other

    Jessica Barker
    Finding people in similar situations nearby and the services you need is a challenge for families like mine

15 July 2020

  • woman reading bad online news

    Covid-19 is robbing children taken into care of a chance to properly say goodbye to their families

    Angela Frazer-Wicks
    Saying farewell to my children was devastating, but I at least have memories to treasure. Families today aren’t so lucky

17 June 2020

  • A sign outside a care home during the Covid-19 Lockdown shows messages from residents

    'We feel manipulated and scared': working in a care home during the Covid-19 crisis

    Rachel Dealtry
    People doing the job we do for the money we are paid should never have been put in this situation

9 June 2020

  • lonely boy sits on the stairs of a shabby old house

    'I wasn't a gangster, just a kid from Shropshire': how drugs gangs are exploiting lockdown

    Sonya Jones
    My team is seeing ever-younger children being recruited to county lines drugs trade during the pandemic

9 March 2020

  • A young male, who is an unaccompanied asylum seeker, stands his bedroom

    He calls us 'new Mum, new Dad': fostering a teen asylum seeker

    Salim has been with us for three years and we treat him as one of the family

17 February 2020

  • Scared by too many emails

    Building 'resilience' won't stop traumatised social workers quitting

    Diane Galpin, Annastasia Maksymluk and Andy Whiteford
    A new diagnostic tool and workforce health check risk blaming frontline professionals for their burnout and distress

29 January 2020

  • Father reading with son (4-5) on lawn

    'Hard truths told in a gentle way': how life story books help adopted children

    Life story books can help adopted children understand their past, but are often not prioritised by social workers

20 January 2020

  • Girl holding a book in front of her face<br>C548WN Girl holding a book in front of her face

    I wasn't told why I was taken into care. For years I thought it was my fault

    Kerrie Portman
    How can you adjust to a new situation, feel safe and settled, when you don’t know how you got there?

25 November 2019

  • A lone male in a rural location

    Violence traps scared kids in county lines gangs. They need help before it's too late

    Sonya Jones
    Young people are exploited for years before getting support. Social care, schools and police need to know the warning signs

15 November 2019

  • ‘I had wanted to love and care for someone, and for someone to love me.’

    I grew up in care. I wanted to break the cycle and be the good parent I didn't have

    My beautiful daughter was never taken away from me, but not all care leavers are so lucky

18 October 2019

  • portrait of a man with Down's syndrome working in an office

    Homes, hope, work and love: what learning disabled people want from life

    Elaine James and Rob Mitchell
    Social workers are changing the way they work to help people with learning disabilities achieve their aims

15 October 2019

  • Couple talking to family counselor

    Black boys wait too long to be adopted. Is the system institutionally racist?

    Krish Kandiah
    BAME children are overrepresented in the care system, and seemingly have their futures written off based on their skin colour

21 August 2019

  • Britain’s new Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, delivers a speech outside Downing Street

    It's time to declare a social care emergency

    Anonymous social worker
    Citizens are prepared to tackle the climate crisis. We should do the same for the most vulnerable people in society too

9 August 2019

  • Baby crawling

    We fell in love with our adopted daughter – but didn't ask key questions about support

    Krish Kandiah
    The adoption support fund is a lifeline for parents like us. At a time of political turmoil, it must not be overlooked

31 July 2019

  • stressed worker

    Social workers are being blamed for their own stress and burnout

    Diane Galpin, Annastasia Maksymluk and Andy Whiteford
    The concept of individual resilience is diverting attention from failures in a system hit by funding cuts and a staff exodus

7 May 2019

  • Family watching 3d movie

    How to tackle the foster care recruitment crisis? Value us more

    Krish Kandiah
    Ineffective ad campaigns are not bringing in anywhere near the number of foster carers needed to support vulnerable children
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