Care Experienced Week is an opportunity to recognise and celebrate care experienced people, while reflecting on how their experiences help shape ILF Scotland policies and commitments.
This year's theme, Forward to the Future, celebrates Scotland's care experienced community, where people are now and what they are looking forward to in the future.
As Scotland's national centre of excellence for independent living and personalised funding, ILF Scotland supports disabled people, including those who are care experienced, to live independently and take part fully in their communities.
Peter Scott, ILF Scotland Chief Executive Officer, said: "We are delighted to celebrate Care Experienced Week and recognise the valuable contribution care experienced people make to our communities, workplaces and wider society.
"While someone may leave care, they never leave their care experience behind. That is why it is so important that they feel valued, included, and able to access the same opportunities as everyone else.
"As a Corporate Parent, we are committed to doing more than meeting our legal responsibilities. We want to help remove barriers and ensure care experienced people can access the support they need to achieve their goals.
"15% of Recipients of the ILF Scotland Transition Fund are care experienced. Looking to the future, we want to ensure this reflects the number of disabled care experienced people who could benefit from our support.
"We will continue to raise awareness of our funds so that more care experienced disabled people can consider how ILF Scotland funding could help them live independently.”
ILF Scotland is committed to continually improving the support it provides to care experienced people, whether they are Recipients, colleagues or job applicants.
This commitment includes the Care Experienced Guaranteed Interview Scheme, which helps reduce barriers and create fair, inclusive access to employment.
ILF Scotland is also proud to be the first organisation in Scotland to achieve Gold Standard Kinship Friendly Employer status, supporting kinship carers to remain in work while taking on caring responsibilities for children they love.
Heather Melville-Hume, ILF Scotland Senior People and Culture Manager, said: "Talent is everywhere. Opportunity should be too. Meaningful inclusion happens when people feel seen, heard and supported. That is why ILF Scotland is committed to removing barriers and creating opportunities for care experienced people.
“We recognise that every care experience is unique. There is no single story, no typical journey and no one-size-fits-all definition of success. Behind every experience is a person with talents, ambitions, and dreams.
"Our experiences help shape who we are. For some people, that includes having care experience.
"Most importantly, this week reminds us that every care experienced person matters and deserves the opportunity to live, work and thrive with dignity, respect and belonging."
