connect 2017 • 31 THE MISSION OF EPIC IS : • To advocate at a national and local level for the rights of young people in and with care experience. • To promote the voices of young people in and with care experience. • To base advocacy on meaningful engagement with young people, documented data and commissioned research. EPIC IS DIVIDED INTO FOUR KEY PARTS: • Advocacy • Policy • Research • Youth Engagement These four sections work together to better promote the rights of children in care and young people and adults with care experience. As an Advocacy Officer with EPIC I meet with children and young people and support them in havingtheirvoicesheard.Igettomeetsomeofthemost remarkably resilient and engaging kids and young adults on a daily basis. I have an ever-deepening respect for their stories; what they have been through to get where they are truly opens your eyes to some of the problems which still blight Irish society. When children are taken into care in Ireland, they can be placed in residential centers, with foster carers or with relatives (called relative foster carers). They often need help coming to terms with the reasons why they were taken into care, and may need sup- port overcoming childhood trauma. It is important to them to be able to count on the adults around them and to find stability; that is why it is crucial to prevent their placement breaking down, or a high turnover of social workers. When they are about to leave care, it is important to ensure that they hold the sufficient skills to transition into independent living after an often chaotic childhood. Our team at EPIC has an abun- dance of experience working with children and vulner- able adults, supporting them to access and navigate bureaucratic systems which are all are too often, not designed with traumatized children in mind. This is part of the reason why EPIC worked on the development of a peer-led education program. Mem- bers of our team who were themselves once in care, devised Life Skills modules for young people who are about to leave care. It includes information and advice about mental health, budgeting, relationships and af- tercare. It is proving to be very popular with the young people that they meet. Often times, young people will accept advice from someone who has been through the system rather than someone who they may see as part of the system. Funding from The Ireland Funds allowed us to run a creative writing course for care leavers, and it was the perfect balance in between teaching the participants new skills and ensuring that they produced something tangible that could be shared widely. This is why the book Little Epic Stories is so powerful. It was written by adults who grew up in care, to raise awareness and change people’s perceptions of what being in care is like. It is genuine and incredibly moving. There is a very high proportion of care-leavers de- pending on homeless services in Ireland today. There are many more hidden homeless young adults who are “couch-surfing” because they are too afraid to access the emergency hostel system because of sto- ries of violence, bullying and drug use. The Dublin EPIC Council is currently working in collaboration with other youth groups on a campaign that will highlight this situation and hopefully prompt the government to take measures to provide a fairer system for young people who have been in care. The recession in Ireland hit many people hard but care-leavers, especially those who were in residential care, were hit the hardest. It is poignant to reflect that, while we as an orga- nization are feeling excited and energized coming up to our eighteenth birthday; many of our teenagers who are in state care feel most apprehensive and fear- ful about this time of their lives. EPIC are committed to continue making significant changes to children, young people and adults‘ lives and striving towards systemic improvements in the care continuum in Ireland. We believe that to do this most effectively, you have to listen to the voices of those who are the least heard – the children themselves. — Peter Lane, Advocacy Officer, EPIC