LIFEbeat welcomes many young people from this sector. Our main partner is Fight for Peace. The partnership has proved to be highly effective in offering a transformative intervention, helping these young people turn their lives around. LIFEbeat offers a safe community where it is possible to be emotionally vulnerable, and connect with others in kind and loving ways – building empathy. LIFEbeat can give these young people a reason to want to live. As a young man recently said at a LIFEbeat event, when asked what he most values: “I value my life”. Looked After Children LIFEbeat also serves children removed from their birth families and in foster care. These young people are often suffering from trauma and mental health challenges, with low self-esteem and attachment issues. LIFEbeat offers them a community to belong to, a chance to tell their stories and to transcend their identities as rejected children. The Foyer Bristol, a shelter which addresses youth homelessness, is a regular referring partner. Its young people are living in hostels and temporary accommodation and they thrive within the LIFEbeat community. Teenage Refugees There has been an influx of teenage refugees over the last few years. LIFEbeat offers them respite, a sense of belonging: a safe place to tell their stories and to be seen, heard and valued; connecting them to a wider positive peer group; and providing play, creativity, joy and hope. We currently work with a number of partners. “It gave me a sense of community so I didn’t feel that I was on my own. I was part of a group of real people who actually cared. It definitely made me realise that I can connect with human beings instead of sitting at home alone. I don’t have to be on my own… I used to think that everyone was out to get me to be honest, but they are not.” LIFEbeat beneficiary, aged 18, The Foyer, Bristol, 2018 Young Carers LIFEbeat welcomes many young carers. These are young people who have a primary caring role within their own families, taking care of their parents and siblings due to injury or mental health issues. LIFEbeat offers them respite, a chance to be children again where they can focus on themselves, have fun and create their own visions beyond their caring duties. Our main referring partner is Family Action, Islington who also regularly benefits from LIFEbeat staff trainings. “The young people came back very enthusiastic about life… from the Summer Camp and were more sociable and open. Most of our young carers have had historic difficulties with issues of anxiety and a reluctance to integrate with new people, however, their experiences at the Camp has helped them to conquer social anxieties. What’s lovely to see is how close they have become considering they were not really familiar with each other… this is great as for most young carers isolation is common based on the level of care that they provide for loved ones and the difficulties that come with having a disabled/ill parent/sibling. Our young carers and their families have told me that they returned more confident, and better able to express their emotions… they are more confident and resilient.” Sheraine Brown, Family Action, 2017 “Young people said that they felt happy and fulfilled after their trip. This was because they had more time to enjoy activities and less time to worry about the many life uncertainties faced by young refugees in the UK. Unaccompanied asylum- seeking children are often more vulnerable due to horrors of war and dangerous journeys and social isolation in the UK. The experience of LIFEbeat was a different experience for most young refugees, especially the newly arrived. Meeting new people would have been the first step into this long journey to social integration.” Joe Jakes, Refugee Youth Council, 2017 4 5