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Challenging Misconceptions Around Young Motherhood

Challenging Misconceptions Around Young Motherhood

Released Wednesday, 23rd March 2022
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Challenging Misconceptions Around Young Motherhood

Challenging Misconceptions Around Young Motherhood

Challenging Misconceptions Around Young Motherhood

Challenging Misconceptions Around Young Motherhood

Wednesday, 23rd March 2022
Good episode? Give it some love!
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0:02

The podcast from centre

0:02

by young people for old people

0:11

centre point is the UK is

0:11

leading youth homelessness

0:14

charity. At centre point, we

0:14

believe no young person's life

0:19

should be defined by

0:19

homelessness. We give young

0:23

people the support they need to

0:23

heal and grow no matter what.

0:27

for over 50 years, we've been

0:27

the centre point for change,

0:30

personal and political. Everyone

0:30

has their part to play with

0:35

young people leading the way.

0:35

This podcast has been created by

0:40

young people with lived

0:40

experience of homelessness will

0:45

be shining a spotlight on some

0:45

of the issues that affect us. We

0:50

hope to challenge and change

0:50

some of the stereotypes and

0:53

bring others with us as part of

0:53

a movement to end youth

0:57

homelessness for good. This

0:57

podcast was recorded on Zoom due

1:02

to the Coronavirus pandemic.

1:02

Welcome to point made the new

1:08

Centerpointe podcast by young

1:08

people for all people. I'm

1:13

Bethany, and I'm going to be

1:13

your host today for this special

1:16

podcast episode on young

1:16

mothers. I'm just going to give

1:20

myself a slight introduction. So

1:20

I'm a young mother, my son is

1:24

four. I'm currently in

1:24

university, I'm in my second

1:27

year, and I study social policy.

1:27

My biggest interest is young

1:32

people, but especially young

1:32

mothers, and I'm really

1:35

passionate about advocating for

1:35

young mothers so that we can

1:39

kind of get a lot of rights,

1:39

especially in education. And I

1:45

just want to kind of just talk

1:45

about some of the misconceptions

1:49

about young mothers and

1:49

parenthood for young people. And

1:53

we've got some special ladies

1:53

here with me today. We were

1:57

going to talk about their

1:57

experiences and their views. And

2:00

we're just going to just have a

2:00

good discussion about this. And

2:03

hopefully we can all learn

2:03

something from each other. So we

2:09

first got on the panel Jade

2:09

she's young mom from Croydon,

2:13

she is an exceptional young man

2:13

from Korea. And I should say she

2:17

was also a young conservative

2:17

who campaigned in Croydon. And

2:21

um, so yeah, Jay, do you want to

2:21

introduce yourself?

2:24

Hello, welcome to everybody

2:24

who's listening today. My name

2:28

is Jade. I'm actually a young

2:28

parent I had my first son when I

2:32

was 15. I'm actually a single

2:32

parent have been to my son who

2:36

is now seven. As Bethany said, I

2:36

stood in Croydon as a counsellor

2:41

candidate, because I'm a firm

2:41

believer in creating change. And

2:45

I'm really privileged to be on

2:45

this call today. Because finally

2:48

we're talking about the real

2:48

issues that face young parents.

2:51

And we're coming together to

2:51

help and support other young

2:54

parents to have that boldness

2:54

and confidence to help other

2:57

young parents. Thank you, James for that. And I

2:58

would also like the rest of our

3:03

panel to introduce themselves.

3:03

Hi

3:07

Zinnia. I'm a parent. My

3:07

daughter got adopted, sadly. I

3:15

was 16 when I fell pregnant, and

3:15

she ended up getting adopted, I

3:20

had a lot of negativity, no one

3:20

support and so I had to make the

3:25

decision on my own. And my

3:25

daughter was 10 in October. So

3:29

it has been a long time since

3:29

that happened. And being able to

3:34

come on here and get the chance

3:34

to talk about it means a lot for

3:38

me because I want to be able to

3:38

help and support young parents

3:43

that are going through a similar

3:43

situation than what I did.

3:48

Hi, I'm Emma Werth in one of

3:48

Centerpointe young parents

3:52

projects. I've worked here for

3:52

nearly two years as a support

3:56

housing officer. And I'm also

3:56

with one of my amazing clients,

4:00

Charlie. Hi, I'm Charlie. I'm

4:00

one of the residents in the

4:05

service. Amanda, the little girl

4:05

she's called Everlane. She has

4:10

just gone nine one. And that was

4:10

seven, eight year old single

4:13

parent. My name is Shanti. I'm a mother

4:15

of two girls, their one year

4:20

old, a three year old. I was in

4:20

St equate for two years, well,

4:24

just under two years, and I had

4:24

to make some tough decisions in

4:28

life. So I've kind of moved out

4:28

of there. And basically just

4:33

trying to do the best I can for my girls. Thank you. And I'm Jade we have

4:35

to Jade's on the call today. So

4:39

I hope no one gets confused. But

4:39

this is the other Jade without

4:43

the why. So could you introduce

4:43

yourself please?

4:46

Thanks, Bethany. My name is

4:46

Jade. I'm also a mom of two

4:51

children. I've got a boy and a

4:51

girl.

4:54

I had my first son when I was 21

5:01

At the time, I fell pregnant

5:01

when I was living in wellness

5:04

centre points, partners

5:04

supported accommodation. And I

5:09

just started unit University.

5:09

Just after I found out I was

5:13

pregnant. So yeah, I had some

5:13

big, big choices to make around

5:18

what I was going to do and where

5:18

I was going to live. And yeah,

5:22

here we are now. Thank you all for introducing

5:24

ourselves. I really appreciate

5:27

all of you being here. So we're

5:27

going to just basically, I

5:30

guess, start off with a couple

5:30

of topics. And I guys just want

5:33

you to just throw out your

5:33

thoughts about this first topic,

5:38

which is accessibility to

5:38

services. So this can be housing

5:43

this can be I don't know, the

5:43

benefit system. I know, we've

5:46

got some views, but I really

5:46

want to hear from you guys. So

5:50

does anyone want to put their

5:50

hand up and speak about what

5:52

they think about accessibility

5:52

to services? Okay, so we've got

5:57

Jade, I thought I would just put

5:57

my two pence in, because I think

6:01

this is something I'm extremely

6:01

passionate about, especially

6:04

having my son so young, having

6:04

him at 15, you can only imagine

6:09

that the first point of contact

6:09

that I had was with social

6:12

services, because it was sort of

6:12

like a thing where there was

6:16

concerns that a 15 year old was

6:16

having a child. But there wasn't

6:20

that support of early help, or,

6:20

you know, my mental state of how

6:25

am I feeling or even at school,

6:25

it was kind of like, they wanted

6:29

me to leave mainstream school

6:29

and still have go to like a

6:32

centre, wherever your parents

6:32

were not to say that there's

6:35

anything wrong with that. But

6:35

there was just no support for

6:38

me. And what I wanted to say

6:38

there's a big concern, I

6:42

remember when my mom had kicked

6:42

me out of the house. And even

6:46

with the social worker, there

6:46

was no options or there was no

6:49

advice. So there was no like

6:49

legal documents that supported

6:53

or kind of advise me on what I

6:53

couldn't, I couldn't do. I

6:57

guess, as I've grown up,

6:57

especially with things like

7:00

benefits, I didn't even know

7:00

what tax credits was, the only

7:03

thing that I actually knew about

7:03

was the grant that you get

7:06

things like a 500 pound grant

7:06

when you have your first child.

7:09

And that's because the midwife

7:09

kind of said it in passing like,

7:12

oh, have you applied for the

7:12

grant. And I was like, what

7:15

grant and then I went home and

7:15

researched it. So I think it's

7:19

really important that we have

7:19

any parent but especially young

7:22

parents, because we're not

7:22

always in a position where we

7:25

have a supportive network, or we

7:25

may not have or even if we do,

7:30

we need to know what's out

7:30

there. Because it's not about

7:32

us. It's about our children

7:32

getting the right support and

7:35

the right advice. I don't know

7:35

if anyone else has experienced

7:37

the same as me, but I lacked

7:37

that support and knowledge. And

7:41

Google was my advice. My best

7:41

friend, which now I can

7:46

obviously advise others on what

7:46

there is out there.

7:49

Thank you, Jade for that. Yeah.

7:49

So that was a lot more

7:53

knowledge. And yeah. And if we

7:53

don't know it, we're gonna miss

7:57

out on all that accessibility to

7:57

services. So Zinnia, would you

8:00

like to come in and say, what

8:00

you think about accessibility to

8:04

services? I think that young people should

8:06

be told about the options more.

8:11

When I was pregnant at 16,

8:11

social services kept the whole

8:16

young mom unit for me. So if I

8:16

knew about that, I would have

8:21

chose that. And I would have

8:21

still had my daughter of today.

8:24

But because they kept that from

8:24

me, things went the opposite

8:29

way. And I ended up losing my

8:29

daughter because they didn't

8:32

tell me the full thing. And it

8:32

was hard because like, as Oh,

8:38

they also didn't tell me about

8:38

the grant. And when I did find

8:41

out about it, I was turned down

8:41

from it because of his being in

8:45

foster care. So it was a very

8:45

hard situation. And I had

8:49

literally no one helping or

8:49

support me. And I feel like

8:53

there should be more out there

8:53

to help young people as a

8:56

permanent. Thank you. Zinnia. Yeah, that

8:57

that situation is very similar

9:00

to mine. I'm also a Kelly ball.

9:00

And again, without having that

9:05

knowledge, I didn't know about

9:05

that grant. And when I did find

9:09

out, I ended up losing out on it

9:09

because it was just too late. So

9:14

again, that is a massive issue

9:14

that we're seeing and yeah, it

9:18

seems like we're all

9:18

experiencing the same thing. So

9:21

Jade, could you come in and talk

9:21

about what you think about this

9:25

topic? Yeah, sure.

9:28

And I was a little bit older,

9:28

but I'd lost both of my parents

9:31

by the time I was 17. So by the

9:31

time I got pregnant with my son

9:37

even though I was in supported

9:37

accommodation, it it was kind of

9:41

this thing of well, you need to

9:41

move on because you're pregnant.

9:46

And I was going to uni and then

9:46

when I got to uni it was like

9:49

you need to move on because

9:49

you're pregnant and we can't

9:52

have you in in university halls

9:52

either. I actually lived in uni

9:56

halls and yeah, like, the only

9:56

reason why I knew it And like

10:00

you guys have said about the

10:00

grant and things like that is

10:03

because the midwife did

10:03

mentioned it to me in passing.

10:07

And I think that to that time,

10:07

like I was a, I was going to be

10:12

a young mom with, like, I had a

10:12

lot of difficulty with my mental

10:16

health and substance misuse. And

10:16

I kind of just milled along and

10:21

didn't actually get somewhere to

10:21

live until I was like seven

10:24

months pregnant. So yeah, I

10:24

think not having parents or a

10:29

kind of parents figure and being

10:29

pregnant, and then trying to

10:33

find somewhere to live. And

10:33

trying to find out what you've,

10:38

what you're entitled to, and

10:38

what you've what you can access,

10:41

it was a really overwhelming

10:41

time. So I can't imagine what

10:44

that must have been like to be

10:44

even younger and experienced

10:47

that. Because it really it

10:47

really felt difficult for me.

10:50

Thank you, Jade. So does anyone

10:50

want to comment, again, on this

10:57

topic before we move on to the

10:57

next topic, which is education,

11:02

as big, so in terms of

11:02

accessibility, for me, I think I

11:08

kind of got lucky in the way I

11:08

in the way I've I found an

11:12

appointment, or I've got sent

11:12

away. And then I had that

11:14

support. Because for me, I was

11:14

living with my mom and my four

11:20

brothers and my daughter. And

11:20

she was she was young, and from

11:26

from the point where she was

11:26

born. And even before she was

11:28

born, I obviously tried to apply

11:28

for housing, and it kind of just

11:34

didn't go anywhere. So I had to

11:34

put in that that application

11:38

thing where you say, they have

11:38

to get back to you within eight

11:41

weeks or something like that.

11:41

Yeah, I can't do that, to sit to

11:44

say, they'll get back with me

11:44

eight weeks. And when I did go

11:49

to the appointment, I was lucky

11:49

in the way that someone who I

11:56

used to go to church with when I

11:56

was a child, she was there. And

11:58

she's the one that recommended

11:58

that the person dealing with me

12:02

put me in what when what was

12:02

called intergenerational scheme,

12:06

which is we've set an

12:06

appointment. So hadn't been for

12:09

her, I probably would have

12:09

stayed at home for much longer.

12:13

Because obviously, they didn't

12:13

want to offer me that. It's only

12:18

because she was told to in terms

12:18

of access, in terms of

12:21

accessibility. It's not that

12:21

easy. And in terms of stuff like

12:28

benefits and other stuff, I

12:28

think, I think up to now, I'm

12:32

still not getting the full

12:32

potential of what I could have

12:34

and why should have. And it's

12:34

because they make the

12:38

application process for some

12:38

stuff harder. For example, I've

12:42

noticed they're changing now.

12:42

But for example, like the like

12:45

Healthy Start vouchers, stuff

12:45

like that, you had to get a

12:50

stamp from a midwife. But then I

12:50

couldn't go see a midwife

12:53

because I didn't have appointment and stuff like that I have to go to the GPS after

12:55

travel to get the stamp. So

12:58

don't make it easily accessible. Whereas you can just apply online, but now they've changed

13:00

it. So you can do it online. But

13:04

up to now, I'm still not getting

13:04

that I still haven't applied for

13:07

that, which I probably should.

13:07

But you know, they, they don't

13:11

make it easy for young people to

13:11

do stuff like that.

13:15

Yeah, that's really true. And I

13:15

guess COVID has really shown how

13:20

much actually they can make

13:20

easy, but they just chose not to

13:23

because it's not impossible,

13:23

they could have done it. And

13:26

yeah, so I agree with that. Do

13:26

you guys feel like possibly

13:32

because I guess the time when we

13:32

all kind of fell pregnant and

13:36

had our kids? It seems like

13:36

information was just not free

13:39

flowing? Like this is something

13:39

that we had to go and

13:42

investigate and go look for? Do

13:42

you feel like this information

13:45

should be taught to us in

13:45

schools, about parenthood, and

13:50

about maybe not necessarily

13:50

saying it has to be young

13:52

parenthood, but Parenthood in

13:52

general? And what we should do

13:56

for that in the future? So I'm

13:56

gonna go to Jade with a Y. And

14:04

could you tell me what you think

14:04

about that?

14:06

I think most definitely 110%.

14:06

When we look at schools, we look

14:12

at our education, or educational

14:12

institutions, they are there to

14:16

teach us what life means and

14:16

what the aspects of life are

14:21

about. And young parenthood is a

14:21

part of that. It's not

14:23

advocating for it. And it's not

14:23

saying it's right or wrong. But

14:27

it's making students aware of

14:27

the consequences, the

14:31

implications, the advantages and

14:31

the disadvantages. If you choose

14:35

to have a baby young, part of

14:35

the work that I do is going into

14:38

schools and educating students

14:38

on what parenthood looks like as

14:42

a young parent. And when you go

14:42

into a school, you meet a young

14:45

person and I have met young

14:45

ladies that turn around and say

14:49

I want to have a baby young and

14:49

by the time I'm finished

14:52

regarding being homeless, not

14:52

having money, not knowing what

14:56

to do. They turn around and say

14:56

I'm gonna Wait. And then you do

15:01

have some young people that say,

15:01

Now I know what I'm getting

15:05

myself into. Obviously for me, I

15:05

wouldn't change having my

15:08

children for the world. The

15:08

blessing as they say in does

15:11

that in disguise. But we need to

15:11

educate young people and young

15:16

people need to be educated on

15:16

the realities of what life will

15:19

be like if they choose to have a

15:19

baby young. And that goes to,

15:22

for everything, your credit

15:22

rating or mortgages, your

15:25

finances, we can't. I think one

15:25

of my biggest concerns and what

15:30

kind of made me kind of upset

15:30

now is turning 20 or 21. And not

15:35

ever knowing what credit is, or

15:35

not even knowing how I'm going

15:38

to buy a house. Why wasn't I

15:38

taught this in school. Maths is

15:42

important. English is important.

15:42

But life skills is what's going

15:46

to get me through life not

15:46

knowing what a fraction is,

15:49

because I've never used it since

15:49

I've left school. So I think

15:52

it's very important that we

15:52

teach students. I know it's hard

15:57

for teachers right now, because

15:57

they're stretched because of

15:59

COVID. But organisations and

15:59

charities like centerpoint, like

16:03

other charities that focus their

16:03

attention on young people and

16:06

communities should be allowed to

16:06

do that work. So I think it's

16:09

very important. Yeah. Thank you, Jade. Yeah, it. I

16:11

guess that's the beauty of what

16:14

you do. It's just about giving

16:14

that information so that you can

16:19

make a rational decision. I

16:19

think Jade's charity needs a

16:22

massive promotion. We need to

16:22

get her into more schools,

16:25

because I guess this is what we

16:25

need. Could we go to the other

16:31

Jade? And could you tell me

16:31

about this topic and what you

16:34

think about it, I'm a massive advocate of for

16:35

edit, like education, and all of

16:39

the things that judge just said,

16:39

like, I've done a lot of PSHE

16:44

work in schools around youth

16:44

homelessness and domestic abuse

16:48

and, and other like, important

16:48

life issues. And like, in my

16:52

current job, now, I'm going into

16:52

do PSHE on a different topic.

16:56

And some schools have actually

16:56

caught PSHE out of the

17:00

curriculum to catch students up

17:00

and like English and like maths

17:04

and science. And it scares me a

17:04

little bit. Because I think

17:08

about when I was pregnant, and I

17:08

had my son, my experiences of

17:14

how I had been parented, and the

17:14

only things, I had to go off on

17:18

how to be a parent to my own

17:18

son, and knew I didn't want to

17:22

bring my child up, how I'd been

17:22

brought up and out and him to

17:27

have the experiences that I'd

17:27

had, but I didn't know how to do

17:31

that, like, I didn't know, like,

17:31

like, when he was born, there

17:36

was so much going on, it was

17:36

really difficult to bond with

17:38

him. I didn't know about any of

17:38

these things. And I kind of

17:43

bumbled along, like just try not

17:43

to be what happened to me, I

17:48

guess, is what I'm trying to

17:48

say. So yeah, I really do

17:53

believe that. If I was shown in

17:53

school, even things about like

17:59

emotional regulation, or how to

17:59

speak to like, like how to just

18:04

be a mom, like, I didn't know

18:04

how to read, you expect it to

18:07

just not we don't get a book for

18:07

that stuff. Yeah, it's, it's

18:12

tough without knowing what to do. Yeah, definitely. And I, I just

18:15

want to kind of bring it back.

18:18

So you know, the title of this

18:18

podcast, like it's, you know,

18:21

your own mom, and you're not

18:21

going to achieve anything, and

18:24

it kind of goes down to the

18:24

education system, you know,

18:27

like, that's where it all stems

18:27

from, if we are not taught how

18:30

to effectively incorporate

18:30

parenthood, with other aspects

18:34

of our lives, then what will

18:34

happen is, is that we won't

18:37

achieve anything. So it's, it's

18:37

all about the services and the

18:40

things that are around us to

18:40

help us to kind of bring all of

18:44

that together to actually be

18:44

able to achieve something. So

18:48

thank you, Jane. And could we go

18:48

to Shantae, please?

18:54

Okay, um, yeah, so on the topic

18:54

of education,

19:00

I completely agree with David

19:00

and Jade, in what they're

19:04

saying. Because how I see it,

19:04

and how what I've seen like,

19:09

when you're in school, you're

19:09

taught how to prevent pregnancy.

19:15

You're taught how to even get

19:15

rid of a pregnancy, but they

19:19

don't teach you what to do if

19:19

you are pregnant. They don't

19:23

cover all aspects of it. Just

19:23

because they don't want you to

19:26

become a young parent. Doesn't

19:26

mean they shouldn't teach you

19:28

about what happens if you become

19:28

a young parent. I think that's

19:33

where the system educational

19:33

system fails a lot of young

19:36

people because they'd rather

19:36

teach them not say it's not

19:42

important, but they'd rather

19:42

teach them history about the

19:45

wars that happened, but they

19:45

don't teach them about you know,

19:48

what's to happen in the future.

19:48

The only the only they like to

19:52

talk about power. So yeah, you

19:52

know, that they'll say, they

19:56

even teach you about how you can

19:56

help how So you know how you can

20:00

how you get pregnant, but you

20:00

don't teach you what to do after

20:03

that after that point. They

20:03

don't teach you. They don't

20:06

teach women. You know, the point

20:06

of pregnancy is only when you're

20:10

pregnant, you might Google. What

20:10

like how the stages of your baby

20:15

or what effects it might have on

20:15

your body and stuff like that.

20:18

But it's only when you're

20:18

pregnant. That's when you learn

20:21

that part. I think if they put

20:21

them in schools, it would help a

20:26

lot. Because teenagers or young

20:26

adults will know what they're

20:30

getting into, before they get

20:30

into it. And I think if they

20:34

did, I don't know, it would just

20:34

help you help a lot.

20:39

Yeah, thank you. Shantay. I,

20:39

again, really agree with that.

20:42

And I think it's just one of

20:42

those things where it's like,

20:45

it's not even about teaching

20:45

about being a young parent. It's

20:48

about teaching how to be a

20:48

parent in general, because most

20:51

people will become a parent, and

20:51

most people experienced this. So

20:54

it's important to know how to

20:54

engage with this aspect of life

20:58

and again, to incorporate it

20:58

with other parts of our life.

21:02

Okay, so can we go over to Zinio, I agree with what everyone said.

21:04

And I also feel like, what we

21:10

should get taught in school as

21:10

well, is how to identify

21:14

postnatal depression because a

21:14

lot of young people who have

21:17

babies end up getting

21:17

depression, and they don't know

21:20

the signs of it, and half the

21:20

time not aware that they've got

21:23

it. So I feel like if you get

21:23

taught that in school, you'll be

21:28

able to pick up on it a lot

21:28

quicker and get help sooner.

21:32

Yeah, that is very true. I can I

21:32

can also share that. myself.

21:36

I've experienced postnatal

21:36

depression, and only now I knew

21:39

that I had it. And I didn't know

21:39

at the time, but I had it. And

21:43

it's just something that I

21:43

realised now, because I was

21:46

always just bubbly and happy,

21:46

but certain things. And when I

21:50

look back now, I can see that I

21:50

had that. So could we also go

21:55

over to Mr. or Charlie, to speak

21:55

on this topic?

22:02

I know Charlie wanted to say

22:02

something after me. But I mean,

22:05

I'm just thinking like for me,

22:05

because I mean, I had my

22:08

daughter when I was 28. And I

22:08

mean, there was nothing in

22:12

school about anything like that.

22:12

I mean, you know, I think kind

22:16

of got the basics in school, it

22:16

was more like, you know, like,

22:19

sex education, talks, periods.

22:19

And that was it. We got we got

22:24

absolutely nothing. So I mean,

22:24

when I had my daughter, it was a

22:29

massive shock. I mean, I was

22:29

lucky because I lived at home

22:32

and I had my mama support court.

22:32

I don't know where I would have

22:36

been to be honest, if I didn't

22:36

help them. Yeah, well, I mean,

22:39

when I fell pregnant, I was 17.

22:39

I just started college, and did

22:43

sort of really support and is

22:43

and try and help us throughout

22:46

the beauty bit just asked if I

22:46

wanted to leave college until

22:50

Emily was a few years old and

22:50

could go into nursery. So I

22:54

think yeah, definitely needs to

22:54

be told. And then it'd be more

22:56

support out there for people who

22:56

do fall pregnant, and maybe

22:59

school or college, because there

22:59

really isn't much of work for

23:02

them. And I feel like if I

23:02

didn't have the support of the

23:06

staff in here, or the support of

23:06

my family, I wouldn't really

23:09

have had anyone. Thank you guys for sharing that.

23:11

I also just want to know that

23:15

we've kind of said that and

23:15

education system is not helpful.

23:19

What things do we think come

23:19

from put in place, because in my

23:23

own experience, I fell pregnant

23:23

when I was two, my GCSEs. And

23:27

there was two sides of it. There

23:27

was one side that I say okay, it

23:29

was kind of bad, like similar

23:29

situation with Jade, I was kind

23:32

of told that maybe I should

23:32

leave my school and go to a

23:35

centre. But then there was

23:35

another side, which was helpful,

23:38

because it did allow me to stay

23:38

in my school. And when I was

23:41

doing exams, I was able to take

23:41

breaks, which obviously

23:45

accommodated my pregnancy. So we

23:45

can kind of say things that I

23:50

guess what schools should do,

23:50

but in terms of actual practical

23:53

things, not just like in theory.

23:53

So what do you guys think?

23:57

I was just gonna mention about

23:57

what it was like, what because

24:01

you've just touched on something

24:01

there about. Most moms don't

24:05

want to be on benefits, they

24:05

want to be working, they want an

24:08

education. And when I was when I

24:08

started university, like that

24:12

was a conversation that saw the

24:12

baby's father at the time it

24:15

said, there's no chance she'll

24:15

go to uni and have a baby in my

24:18

opinion. My mom was very much

24:18

the sense of what are you going

24:22

to do? Like, what about your

24:22

education? And I really wanted

24:27

so badly to be at uni and and to

24:27

do that, like, it wasn't it

24:33

wasn't a thing. Like Like you

24:33

said, I think people have this

24:36

conception that you want to sit

24:36

at home and I didn't like it.

24:41

There was a fight and JMeter

24:41

want to carry that on and I was

24:43

it wasn't made easy like I was

24:43

at Union. I left in the December

24:49

I had my son in March and I had

24:49

to complete a full year's worth

24:51

of work in 10 weeks. Otherwise I

24:51

would have had to defer a year

24:54

and I don't know what it's been

24:54

like for you guys, but I knew

24:59

that if I would have stopped

24:59

OPT. And I would have stayed at

25:01

home with my son that I wouldn't

25:01

have gone back. It was like,

25:04

Well, I had the site in me I had

25:04

to do it then. And I don't know

25:08

how it can be made better for

25:08

me, particularly because like I

25:12

said, I was at uni. But what I

25:12

did have was somebody like

25:15

support services at the unit

25:15

that would help me sit down and

25:19

organise like my, get me

25:19

organised, basically. So yeah, I

25:23

just wanted to put like, point

25:23

that out that that conception of

25:27

your mom's not wanting to do

25:27

anything with the life is

25:30

totally wrong. It really is so

25:30

wrong. And it's I don't think I

25:34

think people realise how

25:34

difficult it is to carry on

25:38

wanting to do that and fight to

25:38

do it, because it's not made

25:41

easy. Yeah, exactly.

25:44

And I guess, I don't know,

25:44

again, in my circumstances, I

25:49

agree, I had to continue, I did

25:49

take a year out. But I had to

25:51

keep on going, I finished my

25:51

GCSEs I took a year out and then

25:55

I went back to sixth form. And

25:55

it doesn't have any child

25:59

doesn't define how well your

25:59

brain works. And I think that's

26:04

one thing that we can all like

26:04

advocate for is that we are all

26:07

still capable, the things that

26:07

we want to accomplish is just

26:11

that we need the right support,

26:11

and the right access to certain

26:16

things that are gonna allow us

26:16

to achieve what we want to

26:18

achieve. Could we go over to the

26:18

other Jade and see what she has

26:23

to say about this, even for me, I had my son at 15.

26:24

I was in Year 10. And I was

26:29

told, like I've mentioned

26:29

before, till kind of leave

26:33

mainstream school, and they was

26:33

going to put me into like a

26:35

school for young parents, and

26:35

you only did two GCSEs, I left

26:39

school of 11. So imagine if I

26:39

had left I would not have got my

26:42

GCSEs I went to college, and I'm

26:42

now in University, studying law

26:46

of international relations. So

26:46

that just goes to show and all

26:50

of us are a testament to just

26:50

because you've had a baby, that

26:53

doesn't mean our brain stops. So

26:53

it's I think somebody mentioned

26:56

we want to progress. And even if

26:56

you don't finish education, I

27:00

think it's Shanti, which was on

27:00

the call, please forgive me.

27:04

That's not how you pronounce her

27:04

name. But she's an entrepreneur.

27:07

So even if young parents don't

27:07

finish education, they're

27:10

creatives, they they start

27:10

businesses, they progress in a

27:13

way that a lot of people think

27:13

they can't. So I just think if

27:17

there is any young parent that

27:17

is listening today, I would say

27:21

just don't even listen to the

27:21

focus of other people. Because

27:24

you know, what you want to do,

27:24

you know that you can progress

27:27

and everyone on this call has

27:27

proven that we can I just wish

27:31

that schools and institutions

27:31

and those around and

27:34

organisations pick up on that.

27:34

And those who aren't supporting,

27:38

go for it. But those who have

27:38

that stereotype, that old

27:42

stereotype that young parents

27:42

can't get rid of it, because we

27:45

actually can. So I just wanted

27:45

to kind of add that as well.

27:50

Thank you, Jade for that. Yeah,

27:50

I think it's just about it is

27:55

always about like, you know,

27:55

motivation, and again, support.

28:01

So as you've kind of spoken

28:01

about what Shanti said, Shanti,

28:04

would you want to come back on

28:04

that and kind of see what you

28:08

have to say about this is basically the way I see it. I

28:09

think that people have in their

28:14

head, obviously the same title

28:14

of what the podcast is, once

28:18

you're a young parent, you can't

28:18

do anything. But I think that

28:21

they're completely wrong. I

28:21

think it's complete opposite.

28:23

Because I think once you are a

28:23

parent, you're more determined

28:28

to make something of your life,

28:28

you're more determined to finish

28:31

that course, you're more

28:31

determined to, I don't know,

28:34

have a job, you know, do

28:34

something for yourself, for your

28:38

child, when you're motivated to

28:38

do something you always find

28:40

time. For me, obviously, I'm

28:40

aiming to have my own

28:44

businesses. So I do multiple

28:44

things. I've taken multiple

28:47

courses, I do multiple craft

28:47

things. I got to work

28:51

practically every day to

28:51

obviously support my family. And

28:56

it's not easy, but I'm more of a

28:56

stick for them. And people who

29:01

don't have anything they're

29:01

motivated about, otherwise less

29:05

likely to do it. Not us not not

29:05

not not as parents,

29:09

thank you Shantae. Again,

29:09

another very, like emotional

29:13

thing. And I don't know, I just

29:13

feel like at this point, it's

29:19

one of those things where it's

29:19

like, for me, before I had

29:23

prints he I was not doing

29:23

anything productive at all. I

29:27

didn't do my work. And it was as

29:27

soon as I had him everything

29:31

clicked and I was like, Oh no, I

29:31

need to get some GCSE is because

29:34

like, I'm about to have a kid so

29:34

I can't just go out with my

29:38

friends every day and like not

29:38

do anything and in the end

29:42

actually ended up performing

29:42

better than out of all of my

29:45

friends. And it was just one of

29:45

those things was not even in

29:49

that way, but kind of more of an

29:49

inspirational way. You know,

29:51

like if you actually put your

29:51

head down, you actually perform

29:54

really well. Could we go over to

29:54

xinyuan Could you tell me what

29:59

you think? about this topic, I think when you're at college

30:01

or school and you're pregnant,

30:06

you should have the choice to

30:06

decide if you want to continue

30:10

or not like I felt pregnant when

30:10

I was in college, and I was near

30:15

the end of my course, and social

30:15

services pulled me out. So I

30:19

didn't get my qualifications for

30:19

my course, to put me in a one

30:23

week sexual health course, was

30:23

heavily pregnant, and then

30:29

decided to put me into a young

30:29

moms college cos to finish was I

30:35

was still pregnant, and became a

30:35

mom. And as I was like, Well, I

30:39

want to stay at college, I want

30:39

to finish it. I'm nearly done. I

30:43

want my qualification. But I had

30:43

no say in the matter, because

30:48

social services just wanted us

30:48

to do these other things,

30:51

because it was what they wanted.

30:51

And I just, I wanted my

30:56

education and I was refused it,

30:56

because I became pregnant. And I

31:01

think that's very wrong. So

31:01

because of that experience, I

31:06

have managed to get a job and

31:06

finished my apprenticeship. I'm

31:10

now a volunteer at the adoption

31:10

place where I speak to first

31:15

time adopters, once every two

31:15

months to talk to them about my

31:19

experience and how important it

31:19

is to receive letters. I

31:22

volunteer for centre point,

31:22

setting up a project called

31:27

centre pin. And I literally do

31:27

everything I can to help young

31:31

people, whether they're young

31:31

parents, or not to make sure

31:35

that they know there's support

31:35

out there. And they know this

31:39

someone that's gone through it

31:39

and has managed to change their

31:42

lives, and that they can do it

31:42

as well. So I literally do

31:46

everything I can to help others. Thank you Xena for sharing that

31:48

experience, I think, yeah, we're

31:52

not aliens, we're not, you know,

31:52

we actually are humans, and we

31:57

deserve to be treated the same

31:57

like everyone else and have that

32:00

choice. I think choice is very

32:00

important thing. And I feel like

32:04

sometimes when you become like a

32:04

parent, you feel like you're

32:06

limited. No matter your age, I

32:06

think you feel like you're

32:09

limited on choice. And there's a

32:09

lot of sacrifice, but it's

32:12

really important that the

32:12

sacrifices are still kind of

32:16

part of our choice, rather than

32:16

just being implemented on us. So

32:19

could we go over to Mr. And,

32:19

Charlie, and could you tell us

32:23

about what you think on this topic? And yeah, I mean, I'm just

32:25

listening to sort of what

32:28

everyone CNN do, you know, like,

32:28

it's totally relatable. I mean,

32:32

when I had my daughter, I was on

32:32

benefits at the time. And, you

32:36

know, like, I knew that I wanted

32:36

something better for us. Like, I

32:40

wanted to go to uni, I wanted to

32:40

work. And I mean, like, I

32:44

remember go on the job centre

32:44

appointment and seeing like, I

32:48

wanted to go to college, and I

32:48

wanted to go to uni, and they

32:52

couldn't believe it. They were

32:52

just absolutely gobsmacked at

32:56

the thought of me going to uni

32:56

and going to college. And that's

33:00

always stuck in my head about

33:00

him. She just couldn't believe

33:04

it. And I mean, like, I think as

33:04

well, like, it's sort of nice to

33:09

prove people wrong as well,

33:09

that, you know, like, you can do

33:13

it. Just because you've got

33:13

children, doesn't mean you

33:17

can't. Oh, yeah, exactly.

33:23

Exactly. I definitely agree on

33:23

that. And I don't know about any

33:27

of you guys. But right now my

33:27

biggest struggle isn't actually

33:30

my parenthood. Right. And I

33:30

think it's other issues could be

33:34

related to parenthood, but I

33:34

guess mental health and

33:37

motivation and just kind of

33:37

organising yourself to be a bit

33:42

of you. We've all kind of spoken

33:42

about, again, like situations,

33:46

but we haven't really spoken

33:46

about housing. And I think this

33:50

is a very big one. Because

33:50

although I'm in my own

33:52

independent house, now, housing

33:52

was the biggest issue for me

33:58

when I had my son at first and

33:58

it was one of those things

34:01

where, you know, with social

34:01

services involved, and you know,

34:06

not having enough housing for

34:06

young parents, because if you're

34:11

kellyboat, they kind of only

34:11

have one bedroom properties. So

34:14

you're waiting even longer, even

34:14

though you kind of need it more

34:18

because you're you have one room

34:18

with a child. And I don't know

34:22

if anyone else wants to come in

34:22

on this but yeah, it's it's

34:25

something that is really

34:25

difficult. And, Jay, I saw your

34:28

hand that you could you tell me

34:28

what you think about this?

34:32

Yeah, Bethany like I echo what

34:32

you said about how difficult it

34:36

was. So when I went to start

34:36

bidding for properties, I was

34:40

told that because I hadn't had

34:40

my child yet. I was only

34:44

eligible for a one bedroom house

34:44

and I'm just so grateful that

34:49

somebody in housing saw me in

34:49

sin the the difficult situation

34:53

I was in and actually said to me

34:53

like I shouldn't be doing this,

34:56

but I'm gonna give you the house

34:56

before you actually every child

34:59

And another thing that was

34:59

tricky for me or not was, I was

35:03

actually supposed to be a

35:03

caregiver but never actually got

35:06

looked after status. So when my

35:06

mom did die, there was like

35:11

three or four months before I

35:11

turned 18. So a lot of the

35:15

leaving care support that I

35:15

should have got, I didn't. So I

35:18

was kind of in it like, on my

35:18

own. I'm just so grateful,

35:22

really, that somebody saw me and

35:22

said that and saw how badly I

35:27

needed that accommodation and

35:27

give it me because otherwise, I

35:30

would have only been eligible

35:30

for a one bedroom house to um,

35:33

so yeah, I guess, in that

35:33

respect, I feel really, really

35:36

blessed. Thank you, Joe, for sharing that

35:38

I like to kind of hear these

35:41

little stories like that,

35:41

because I think we can all kind

35:44

of relate to maybe a time when,

35:44

you know, someone gave you a

35:47

chance, because this isn't all

35:47

just negative, you know, like,

35:51

even in my own situation,

35:51

there's been plenty of times,

35:54

especially at school, you know,

35:54

a teacher has just given me a

35:57

little bit of that extra boost,

35:57

because they know that it's not

36:01

just me, it's not just my life,

36:01

this is going to affect this is

36:04

going to affect another human

36:04

beings life. And you know,

36:08

sometimes you kind of need that

36:08

encouragement. So I would like

36:10

to kind of also hear so along

36:10

with housing, maybe a time when

36:14

somebody kind of gave you that

36:14

extra chance, even though they

36:18

know that, you know, this is,

36:18

you know, people always say

36:21

this, you know, this is a

36:21

situation that we chose, and we

36:23

kind of brought on ourselves.

36:23

So, could we go over to Zinio.

36:28

Could you tell me about this topic? Yeah. So when I found out I was

36:31

pregnant, I went to gen two and

36:35

applied for a house. And when

36:35

social services found this out,

36:40

they got in touch with gentleman

36:40

told them to refuses, and I had

36:44

to stay with my social foster

36:44

carers. And I kept telling

36:49

social services, I don't want to

36:49

stay there, there's a house full

36:52

of seven people plus like, three

36:52

pets, so there's no room for me

36:59

to raise a child I want, like I

36:59

really need my own place. And

37:03

this was their chance to tell me

37:03

about young mum accomodation.

37:08

And they just kept refusing,

37:08

saying you have to stay here.

37:11

You can't be in your own place,

37:11

you won't be able to look after

37:14

it. And I'm like, well, user

37:14

there to be in my own property

37:20

and how to pay the bills and

37:20

stuff like that. I'm like,

37:23

What's the point of having a

37:23

float and support work if you're

37:25

not going to do your job. So

37:25

they had the opportunity to put

37:31

me in a mother and baby unit and

37:31

they completely decided not to

37:35

tell me about it. And so I ended

37:35

up staying, being forced to stay

37:42

with my foster carers. Thank you, Sunil for that. And I

37:43

think, you know, I definitely

37:46

don't think your story is over.

37:46

I think one day, you could be

37:50

reunited with your daughter

37:50

again, or something amazing is

37:52

going to happen because these

37:52

stories, they never end like

37:55

this. So just keep that hope

37:55

inside and just hope that

37:59

something changes. So could we

37:59

go over to Shantae? Could you

38:02

tell me what you think about this topic? I think for me, as I said

38:04

earlier in this housing wise, I

38:08

was lucky in getting my first

38:08

place. And that was a centre

38:13

point. And I had support workers

38:13

and they helped with so so much

38:18

like I'm grateful for Senator

38:18

point I'm grateful for they had

38:22

they bought a used to bring us

38:22

food every week that I had

38:25

support, I could always go

38:25

downstairs and talk even ahead.

38:28

It doesn't have to be anything

38:28

serious. I want to talk about

38:31

but it's nice to have someone to

38:31

chat to and all that. But from

38:35

2002 1016. So it was 1090 but

38:35

2016 I was actually on the

38:42

Housing Register from them. And

38:42

even up until having my Doula

38:47

bidding, bidding, bidding, and I

38:47

never got anywhere that I think

38:50

that anyway, after having my

38:50

Doula, they they changed up and

38:55

I'm sure they changed my band.

38:55

But I still wasn't a priority.

38:58

Because they still said even

38:58

though my band has changed, I'm

39:01

still not likely to get

39:01

anywhere. So obviously I was in

39:04

a centre point accommodation

39:04

with some other young moms and

39:08

their kids. And yeah, the time

39:08

that I was there it was, it was

39:12

lovely. Like I had a play room

39:12

and all day it was it was very

39:15

nice doing this. But yeah, the

39:15

whole time that I was there, I

39:19

was still trying to bid on a,

39:19

you know, actual counter

39:22

property. Even pregnant with my

39:22

second daughter, while I was

39:26

still there, trying to bid never

39:26

got anywhere when she was born

39:30

to bid and I still never got

39:30

anywhere. But I think the way it

39:34

is housing is and like in terms

39:34

of support wise, being in a

39:40

council place is hard because I

39:40

was in a one bedroom flat. And

39:46

as I said there was nice place,

39:46

but because it was counsel, I

39:50

couldn't I could have obviously

39:50

I did have people over but it

39:54

was hard to have people stay you

39:54

know, so even though my

39:59

children's father wanted to be

39:59

there with me every day. He

40:02

couldn't. And that's because of

40:02

the council. So they're not

40:06

giving me the support I need.

40:06

And there is support that is

40:09

coming to me. But I can't get

40:09

that same support because of the

40:12

council's blocking. I think

40:12

that's what what everyone kind

40:15

of faces. And it's kind of it's

40:15

kind of hard, because say, he

40:21

wanted to be there with me every

40:21

day. He wanted to be there, I

40:24

don't know, to stay on their

40:24

birthday, or whatever it was, he

40:29

couldn't do that. He ended up

40:29

coming at seven o'clock in the

40:32

morning and leaving at 10

40:32

o'clock at night. And same thing

40:35

every day, every day. So I think

40:35

the council can, I don't know,

40:42

find a little leeway when it

40:42

comes to that sort of stuff.

40:45

Because they Yeah, they really

40:45

make things difficult in that

40:49

way. Now I've moved out of

40:49

accounts property, I'm in a

40:52

private property, not in a one

40:52

bedroom flat anymore. I've got a

40:56

nice three bedroom house, huge

40:56

garden. So now I'm where I

40:59

wanted wanted to be. But being

40:59

for them, almost two years that

41:03

was in the council property. It

41:03

was hard because I couldn't have

41:07

the support even though it was

41:07

there. I couldn't have that

41:10

person. That makes sense. Thank

41:10

you,

41:13

Sanjay, for sharing that. Yeah,

41:13

I think that's one of the

41:15

biggest issues with mom and baby

41:15

housing or housing for us is

41:19

that it's very isolating. And I

41:19

think the way it's set up is is

41:23

very like paternalistic, they

41:23

kind of see us as irresponsible.

41:27

So they don't give us a lot of

41:27

leeway around certain rules. And

41:32

I think sometimes that makes it

41:32

worse, because especially if

41:34

you're going through something,

41:34

I mean, when I first had my son,

41:37

I was in a mom and baby foster

41:37

placement. So at least I could

41:40

have people around me. But when

41:40

I went to a mother and baby unit

41:44

out, I saw people with younger

41:44

children. And I was like I

41:47

couldn't imagine giving birth

41:47

and having to be alone and

41:51

couldn't have someone like, at

41:51

least stay in the night with me

41:54

because sometimes you just need

41:54

to sleep and a very simple

41:57

thing. But you can't get that

41:57

because you're in this one baby

42:02

place. And you can't have anyone

42:02

stay over. So I fully understand

42:05

that. And I think a lot of other

42:05

moms on stand up as well. So I

42:08

think that's a difficulty. And

42:08

it's just something that is hard

42:11

to solve. Because I guess it's

42:11

just that's just the rules. But

42:15

yeah, could we go over to Mr.

42:15

Charlie? And could you tell me

42:19

about what you think about this topic? Yeah, well, I'm currently in the

42:21

process, a non profit, even

42:25

yourself. And I've been viewing

42:25

some and really not a standard

42:30

of being able to live in I mean,

42:30

some of them are absolutely

42:34

disgraceful. And there's a bit

42:34

of a issue with them in a way I

42:39

can't really move into certain

42:39

areas due to issues with my

42:42

daughter's dad. And they're not

42:42

really supporting us around

42:45

whatever needs to be mom,

42:45

because that's sort of in a

42:47

similar area. And obviously, I

42:47

need a small support network

42:51

with my family. But the really

42:51

just don't care. Don't you don't

42:55

care about support? Yeah, at all

42:55

with that issue. And I think the

43:01

properties need to be in a lot,

43:01

like not a lot, but a standard

43:05

where it's actually acceptable

43:05

for a mother and a baby to move

43:08

in. Because some of them really,

43:08

really aren't.

43:12

I think for me, I actually moved

43:12

seven times I went from Croydon

43:16

to strip to shepherds, Bush. I

43:16

then went all the way to the

43:21

other side of Camden. And then I

43:21

moved back to Croydon, and then

43:25

he put me in a one bed in

43:25

Croydon. And then when I had my

43:28

second son, James, who is three,

43:28

I remember he was about one, and

43:32

I called them up and as I go,

43:32

will I ever get a two bedroom

43:36

and they said to me, no, until

43:36

my son was 10. So he was five at

43:40

the time. They said it was a

43:40

five year waiting time. So I had

43:43

a bed, my bed, a double bed, I

43:43

had my son's bed Cavani he was

43:48

about five at a time. And then I

43:48

had a cough, and chest a jaw. So

43:52

you can imagine, there was no

43:52

room to move. So it got to a

43:55

point where I was working three

43:55

jobs, I managed to kind of find

43:59

like a local community group in

43:59

my area who helped me raise a

44:03

deposit, which was about 3000

44:03

pounds to go into a privately

44:06

rented home. And you can imagine

44:06

that that's scary, right?

44:09

Because I'm now paying rent,

44:09

which is in the 1000s I have to

44:13

work assume it's gonna be hard

44:13

to kind of help cover that.

44:16

Because Universal Credit is just

44:16

not a win win with them. So for

44:20

me, match child or Cavani, who

44:20

is seven now was only stable

44:25

until I think I stay we got the

44:25

private accommodation when he

44:29

was about six, five and a half,

44:29

six. So for six years of my

44:32

son's life, we've been around

44:32

London, and I can't blame the

44:36

council, because you know what?

44:36

They're stretched for housing.

44:40

But where was that support?

44:40

During that time? I still had to

44:43

study. I still had to work. I

44:43

still had to have a sane mind.

44:47

And if I didn't the first thing

44:47

that would be on my phone is

44:51

social services questioning why

44:51

I'm not doing this right. Why am

44:55

I not doing that? Right? And I

44:55

guess that's what kind of pushed

44:57

me into politics and why I stood

44:57

as a counsellor. My area,

45:00

because I was frustrated with

45:00

how the council treated me. And,

45:05

yes, I decided to have a baby.

45:05

But that doesn't mean that you

45:08

should treat me in that way. Or

45:08

people should be treated in a

45:11

way where they're not in

45:11

appropriate housing where

45:15

they're not getting the appropriate support, because that's why you're employed,

45:17

you're employed to support you

45:20

employed to bridge the gap

45:20

between a young parent having a

45:23

child young and being in a

45:23

mentor, bad mental state, and

45:28

helping them progress in helping

45:28

them prosper and helping their

45:31

child prosper. And I just didn't

45:31

have that. And I think that's

45:35

why I'm kind of passionate about

45:35

politics so much, because where

45:39

is the support, very frustrating

45:39

journey for me of my housing,

45:42

but I now I'm in a stable home,

45:42

which is private, which is

45:46

extremely expensive. But I guess

45:46

that's the risk that I had to

45:51

take to have stability for me

45:51

and my children. Luckily, James,

45:55

which is my younger son, he's

45:55

three now he's able to live in a

45:57

home, have his room and be

45:57

happy. Whereas it took Cavani,

46:02

six years to just have something

46:02

that he could call home and not

46:05

an emergency or temporary

46:05

accommodation, which we had to

46:08

experience. Thank you for that Jade. And,

46:10

um, we've kind of alluded to

46:13

this already. But, you know,

46:13

what does youth homelessness

46:17

actually mean for young parents,

46:17

because I can actually say that

46:21

I've been homeless, like not

46:21

necessarily the same maybe as

46:25

other people, because I've

46:25

actually been homeless with my

46:28

son. And that was something that

46:28

really disrupted a lot of things

46:33

in my life, and especially in my

46:33

education, because I was in the

46:36

first year of sixth form. And

46:36

what happened in the situation

46:40

was, was just like, you know, I

46:40

didn't have a place to stay. So

46:43

I had to stay at my friend's

46:43

house. And when I was going to

46:48

the care lever service to say, I

46:48

need somewhere to stay, they

46:51

turned me away, because they

46:51

said it's Christmas time. And

46:54

there's no one around. And I

46:54

just think that's just really

46:57

disgusting. Because they will be

46:57

the first people to kind of turn

47:01

around. And if you do anything

47:01

risky with your child to kind of

47:04

say, oh, like, you know, what

47:04

are you doing? I guess some of

47:08

the lack of support and lack of

47:08

services can sometimes, you

47:12

know, push us to dangerous

47:12

situations, and it kind of

47:16

backfires on us. But I guess the

47:16

last thing for you guys to kind

47:19

of comment on is, you know, what

47:19

does youth homelessness mean,

47:24

for young parents, I just think it starts with not

47:26

enabling a young person to reach

47:31

their potential and prosper is

47:31

not just about not having a home

47:35

is about not having a stable

47:35

environment for that child to

47:39

live in. And I think that's what

47:39

I would class's youth

47:43

homelessness, not having a

47:43

stable home and not having the

47:46

agencies that that person needs,

47:46

wherever their social care,

47:51

whether that's mental health,

47:51

whether that's the NHS, whether

47:55

that's education, everything

47:55

that enables that person to have

47:59

a stable mind. And a stable

47:59

place to stay contributes

48:03

because I was in emergency

48:03

accommodation. Technically, I'm

48:07

not homeless, because I have a

48:07

home, I have a bed to sleep in.

48:11

But my mental state and how I

48:11

was feeling feeling low and

48:15

feeling alone and feeling

48:15

depressed, I'm homeless, because

48:18

I don't have stability. And I

48:18

don't have somewhere to call

48:22

home, I would leave school and I

48:22

don't even want to go back to

48:25

this emergency hostel. I would

48:25

fall asleep on the street, I

48:28

wouldn't because it's cold, and

48:28

I'm with my son. But I don't

48:32

feel happy going back there. So

48:32

homelessness is a multiple of

48:36

things, not just a bed to sleep

48:36

in.

48:39

I just wanted to echo what Jade

48:39

said. And like, she hit the nail

48:44

on the head when she said about

48:44

it goes back to education, again

48:48

of what youth homelessness is.

48:48

But again, I had somewhere to

48:52

stay. I had somewhere to stay. I

48:52

was in uni halls, I was in

48:56

supported accommodation. But did

48:56

I have somewhere stable to call

49:00

home? What whilst being in that

49:00

process of being pregnant? No.

49:05

Everything was very up in the

49:05

air. And I think understanding

49:08

the needs of young moms is so

49:08

important. I don't think it's

49:12

disgusting us about what our

49:12

home circumstances look like at

49:17

the time we do get pregnant. And

49:17

I feel like that's been across

49:21

the board with all of us today. And again, like

49:25

how do you how do you know if

49:25

actually known? Do you know if

49:28

you if you know that if you

49:28

don't know any different of what

49:32

a sterile environment looks like

49:32

and what you want it to be like

49:35

then how do you know that you

49:35

should get that as well? I guess

49:38

Yeah, I guess it just has

49:38

everything in together of youth

49:42

homelessness for your moms.

49:42

We're up against enough. And

49:46

things should be made. Easy,

49:46

easy for us to be able to be

49:51

supported to bring a beautiful

49:51

child into this world without

49:55

kind of stuffing all these

49:55

expectations on us and not

49:58

giving us the help that we need.

49:58

So, yeah, just I just think it's

50:02

remarkable like everybody even

50:02

on on this call today like, how

50:06

amazing we've done as, as

50:06

parents, I

50:09

just think it's great. I didn't experience like

50:10

homelessness when I had my

50:14

daughter. But I did experience

50:14

like, I had a home. But it was

50:19

more like a prison. Because I

50:19

had my daughter had social

50:23

services watching my every move

50:23

I had my foster care was

50:26

watching my every move at a

50:26

houseful, like everything I was

50:31

doing. I was getting told off,

50:31

you can't do this. That's wrong,

50:34

you can't do that. It's wrong.

50:34

Why are you doing this, and I'll

50:37

do what they're telling us to

50:37

do. And then they use that

50:40

against us. So I felt like I

50:40

didn't have like, a stable

50:46

environment to raise my

50:46

daughter, because it was just so

50:52

miserable in that place. And no,

50:52

I was getting no help. Even

50:57

though I was surrounded by loads

50:57

of people, everyone was against

51:01

us, like, not a single person

51:01

wanted to support us. So after

51:06

like three months of that, I

51:06

ended up deciding to put my

51:12

daughter for adoption, because I

51:12

just didn't want to bring her up

51:15

in this life full of social

51:15

workers and seeing how miserable

51:21

it was here, I wanted her to

51:21

have a better life a better

51:25

chance. So that's what made us

51:25

do that decision. But I also

51:31

feel like when you're in the

51:31

foster care, and you are young

51:34

mom, just because you have a

51:34

home doesn't mean it is a

51:39

healthy environment.

51:43

Well, everyone needs to hear

51:43

what what kind of people need to

51:45

hear what other young parents

51:45

need to hear, what parents to be

51:48

need to hear is that, obviously,

51:48

being homeless is hard. And even

51:54

if you have so much they been

51:54

not comfortable in that place,

51:58

it's hard. But we kind of have

51:58

to remember, I'm kind of to see

52:03

that we're not going to break

52:03

this cycle, without support on

52:08

our ends. Because if we're going

52:08

through this, and our kids are

52:12

also going through it. So

52:12

they're gonna grow up feeling

52:15

what we're feeling, whether

52:15

they're small with like what

52:18

Jade said it was until her until

52:18

her son was six years old,

52:23

before he was in a stable

52:23

environment. Even though he's

52:26

young, obviously, he feels

52:26

everything. So what counts

52:29

people need to him whatever it

52:29

is, please help us to, because

52:33

our children are the future.

52:33

When time goes on, it's going to

52:36

be these kids that are making

52:36

the rules based on them. When

52:40

the elders, you know, they need

52:40

to kind of help help us to help

52:44

them. And if you're a young

52:44

parent, you need to just keep

52:49

going, because I believe I

52:49

believe it can get better. I

52:53

don't know stuff like the stuff

52:53

that is podcast, getting our

52:56

voice out there. I think it can

52:56

get back and help. It's just

53:00

making the right people. Harriet, thank you for that. Shantay

53:02

could we go over to Mr. Charlie

53:06

to hear what they have to say about this? I think for me, like obviously

53:08

begin a worker Seguin,

53:12

obviously, our client groups are

53:12

coming in, some need a lot of

53:18

support. So maybe not as much,

53:18

you know, some don't have

53:22

families, some do, you know,

53:22

like, we get a lot of mixing. I

53:27

mean, we try and provide

53:27

whatever support we can

53:31

possible, you know, I mean, that

53:31

can be a range of different

53:35

things. It could be you know,

53:35

like managing tenancies because

53:38

some of them come across, you

53:38

know, and they've never had a

53:40

tenancy before, and it was all

53:40

new to them. And finances you

53:45

know, like claiming benefits

53:45

claiming the right benefit

53:48

maximising that income for them,

53:48

you know, they've got enough

53:53

money to live on enough money to

53:53

provide getting an employment

53:57

educational training, we're

53:57

quite lucky, you know, we've got

54:01

a really good sort of provider

54:01

that we can send our girls to,

54:06

for education and the kind of

54:06

have childcare run alongside

54:10

that as well. So you know,

54:10

that's really helpful to pay for

54:13

them. Obviously, we do, you

54:13

know, we have to do a referral,

54:17

a lot of referrals to other

54:17

organisations and agencies, just

54:21

so they can get like support

54:21

around like mental health, maybe

54:25

psych drugs and alcohol. And I

54:25

do think we provide a lot of

54:30

emotional support. We are here

54:30

for them. And, you know, the do,

54:34

some of them do come across

54:34

first with issues that they have

54:39

with social worker involvement.

54:39

And, you know, and like some of

54:43

them don't understand the

54:43

terminology that social workers

54:46

use or, you know, like about

54:46

providing all of that support,

54:50

like in one. Charlie is a

54:50

classic example. You know, I

54:56

mean, she's got herself in

54:56

education, you know, Just a

55:00

provider I was speaking about

55:00

earlier on, you know, I don't

55:04

pretend to the nursery there.

55:04

She has, she has done so well.

55:08

And she'll be really proud of

55:08

herself. And, you know, like, a

55:11

lot of our moms are like that.

55:11

And it is something to be very

55:14

proud of being able to see them

55:14

move on, you know, and moving on

55:19

independent accommodation, you

55:19

know, that there's to keep. And,

55:23

I mean, obviously, we do provide

55:23

like six weeks support and

55:25

support as well, just to make

55:25

sure they've got everything set

55:28

up at the NATO. Charlie is

55:28

definitely one of them people

55:33

who's just absolutely amazing.

55:33

Um, yeah, well, I mean, I didn't

55:38

know anything really want to

55:38

like you know, anything about

55:41

claiming benefits or anything at

55:41

all, and especially like, ever,

55:46

you wanted to get yourselves

55:46

back in education often had

55:48

Everly great health and helping

55:48

us with that especially. And

55:55

things like move around as well.

55:55

And there's been a great help

55:58

with that. And we'll move on

55:58

come in a few properties with

56:02

his help and see what's out

56:02

there to help furnish the

56:05

property and the funding that's

56:05

available for things to renew

56:11

property. So yeah, it's been a

56:11

massive support. And also just

56:14

if you need something you can

56:14

even if it's just for like

56:17

little chat, you can always pop

56:17

over and get the support.

56:21

Thank you guys for sharing that.

56:21

I think it's so amazing, the

56:24

work that Centerpointe do, even

56:24

in my own experience, I thought

56:28

I knew everything, I thought I

56:28

was a big woman. But actually,

56:32

when I got there and actually

56:32

started receiving the help, I

56:35

really saw myself flourish. And

56:35

I learned so much. So

56:38

Centerpoint does a really good

56:38

job in helping young parents.

56:42

And I think it needs to be

56:42

promoted more, I think people

56:44

don't know that Centrepointe

56:44

actually helped young parents,

56:47

but even if they don't know

56:47

they're doing a really good job

56:50

in supporting them. So we're

56:50

coming to the end of the podcast

56:54

now. And I want everyone to kind

56:54

of speak on what kind of parent

56:59

they think that they want to be.

56:59

And kind of the strengths that

57:03

they have as a parent, and what

57:03

it means to be a parent and what

57:07

type of parent you want to be in

57:07

the future. Should I go first, I

57:11

can go first I can talk about

57:11

Okay, so the type of parent that

57:14

I want to be in the future, I

57:14

don't want to have any more

57:17

children. So that's the thing

57:17

that I wanted to say. But I do

57:21

want to be a mother to as many

57:21

children as I want. And in that

57:25

sense, I just want to be there

57:25

for a lot of young people, I

57:29

don't know, maybe I don't know

57:29

when they adopt, because coming

57:31

from the care system, kind of

57:31

seeing like what that system

57:35

kind of entails, it would be

57:35

nice to kind of give that chance

57:39

to another young person or child

57:39

because I had that experience

57:42

myself. And we can relate. And

57:42

yeah, I guess the strength of me

57:46

being a parent is definitely in

57:46

something that I want to go into

57:50

in the future is having that

57:50

experience and that first hand

57:54

experience. And then I'll be

57:54

going into policy and helping

57:57

policy changes for young

57:57

parents, and I am that myself.

58:00

So I think that's really

58:00

important. Could we go to

58:04

Zinnia, let's talk about this. So losing my daughter, I didn't

58:07

fall into depression and stuff

58:11

like that. But it made us open

58:11

my eyes and realise that I

58:14

really needed to get my act

58:14

together and do something of my

58:18

life. Because when she does come

58:18

and find me, I want her to be

58:23

proud of us and not ashamed of

58:23

us. So I went and got myself

58:27

apprenticeship and when helpern

58:27

sent a point and I'm doing all

58:33

this, and even I'm doing all

58:33

this, I get yearly letters

58:38

telling us how my daughter was

58:38

doing. And I chose the same sex

58:43

couple of hours. So she is

58:43

getting brought up by two mums.

58:46

And they are doing a fantastic

58:46

job of and I'm so proud of how

58:51

she's doing. She's having a life

58:51

that I couldn't provide for her.

58:56

And it just makes us realise

58:56

that the decision I made it was

59:00

the hardest one I ever did. But

59:00

it was for the best for my

59:04

daughter. And now it's taken as

59:04

well. But now I'm at the part of

59:11

my life where I want to have a

59:11

family me and my partner's

59:15

talking about starting at the

59:15

end of next year for a baby and

59:19

have so much anxiety about it

59:19

because of what happened with my

59:23

daughter. But I want to be a mom

59:23

and I want to be the best parent

59:30

that I possibly can. Thank you as me Oh, that was

59:32

really amazing. Could we go over

59:36

to Shantae for me, obviously, like any

59:38

parent trying to be the best

59:42

parent I can be for my kids.

59:42

Anytime I obviously I'm trying

59:46

to work so they can have not

59:46

necessarily opened a one because

59:50

I'm going to support them but

59:50

everything that they need in

59:53

life, education wise, and my

59:53

oldest daughter who's free from

59:58

she was one she could tell Are

59:58

you the alphabet, my one year

1:00:02

old is potty training, I'm

1:00:02

trying, obviously, I'm trying to

1:00:05

be the best person, I can try

1:00:05

and do all I can. Future wise,

1:00:10

obviously, nobody can tell the

1:00:10

future, nobody can say what's

1:00:12

going to happen. But if any of

1:00:12

my daughters end up in a

1:00:16

position that I was in, or that

1:00:16

any of us was in, where they

1:00:19

have a child young, I want to

1:00:19

make sure that I will be that

1:00:23

parents to support them, because

1:00:23

I know what it's like, and I

1:00:26

know what other people go through. And I wouldn't want that for my child. I want them

1:00:28

to be secure, feel safe, feel

1:00:32

happy, and take that with them

1:00:32

into their teenage years and

1:00:36

into their adult life. So I can

1:00:36

kind of break the cycle that

1:00:41

we're in, I'm aiming to kind of

1:00:41

make a difference with these two

1:00:46

kids. Because growing up, I

1:00:46

didn't have what I am to my

1:00:50

children. But obviously, me

1:00:50

growing up, it was different. I

1:00:53

grew up in a household with

1:00:53

three brothers, and my mom

1:00:58

single by herself. So she didn't

1:00:58

have the support. She had four

1:01:02

kids by herself. Basically, she

1:01:02

didn't have a she didn't have a

1:01:05

life, basically. So yeah, I'm

1:01:05

trying to break that cycle, make

1:01:10

a difference? give my kids the

1:01:10

good future. You know, I just

1:01:15

want obviously the best. Thank you Shantay. For that,

1:01:16

yeah, that's really amazing,

1:01:19

although we're young, but we

1:01:19

actually have some really mature

1:01:24

and grown aspirations for our

1:01:24

kids. And I think this is the

1:01:27

whole point of this podcast is

1:01:27

to basically promote those

1:01:31

misconceptions. They just think

1:01:31

all we want to do is give our

1:01:33

kids sweets all day and let them

1:01:33

do nothing like we actually have

1:01:37

real goals for our kids. And

1:01:37

that was just really amazing.

1:01:41

Could we go over to Mr. And

1:01:41

Charlie?

1:01:45

Hi, well, yeah, I think what I

1:01:45

remember for our kids and what

1:01:48

we've heard, I mean, why Obregon

1:01:48

was fine, but obviously, we all

1:01:52

want better. And then we want

1:01:52

our kids to give their kids but

1:01:56

I mean, I really want to finish

1:01:56

college, and then go to

1:01:59

university. So I'm like, provide

1:01:59

a better life for me. And then

1:02:04

maybe in future, have more

1:02:04

children, and a trainee want to

1:02:08

give the best life possible and

1:02:08

make more than that, I'll always

1:02:13

be there. And I'll always try my

1:02:13

hardest. Not everyone does have

1:02:17

that everyone has a moment to

1:02:17

stand by the side and support

1:02:19

them. And obviously play the

1:02:19

role of my mum and dad and be

1:02:24

there for our for my wife, no

1:02:24

matter how old she is, where she

1:02:28

is, what she's doing and what he

1:02:28

was doing, obviously, her own

1:02:31

choice, and just support them

1:02:31

for everything and what they

1:02:34

want to do. Thank you, that was really nice.

1:02:36

Could we go over to Jade without

1:02:43

a why? This is not really the

1:02:43

way I want to address you. But

1:02:46

it's just my name now. Shared with a why

1:02:48

that's gonna stick Bethany? It's

1:02:55

such a big question, isn't it

1:02:55

like the strands bit. I will

1:03:00

always fight for what it is that

1:03:00

I need for my kids. Always I

1:03:04

watch my mom do that. And that

1:03:04

is one of my strengths that I

1:03:08

will always fight to get what

1:03:08

they need, and the health for

1:03:11

myself as well, like other

1:03:11

people have shared, you know,

1:03:13

I've been in therapy now for a

1:03:13

bit. And I never want my kids to

1:03:16

come home and question whether I

1:03:16

love them or not, you know, or

1:03:19

quit, like be scared to be at

1:03:19

home. Or that's really important

1:03:23

to me. And I guess with Mother's

1:03:23

Day coming up as well. Like,

1:03:27

it's a big reflective time for

1:03:27

me. And what I want

1:03:30

for my kids and from losing my mom, so young,

1:03:32

and I don't know, I just want to

1:03:35

be present at the weekend. Like

1:03:35

I had two kids in the same week,

1:03:39

who does that like two birthdays

1:03:39

in the same week, and my son had

1:03:43

like four, four of his friends

1:03:43

stay over on Friday night. And I

1:03:47

never got to go out to anyone

1:03:47

else's house for tea, and no one

1:03:50

got to come to mine. And you

1:03:50

know, just seeing him happy and

1:03:53

just being able to be a kid. And

1:03:53

I just love what everyone else

1:03:57

has said. But if I want to break

1:03:57

that cycle generations or women

1:04:01

in my family have had it really,

1:04:01

really tough. And I hope for my

1:04:05

daughter that when she's older,

1:04:05

you know that she knows about

1:04:08

the world, and she knows what

1:04:08

it's like, but she can be secure

1:04:13

in what she's got and help other

1:04:13

other women that might not have

1:04:17

had the stability that she that

1:04:17

Harper can give to her. Because

1:04:22

that's all I've ever wanted in

1:04:22

my adult life is to be able to

1:04:24

give back to other young people

1:04:24

that, you know, I've had similar

1:04:29

life experiences to me. Yeah, so

1:04:29

getting emotional. Yeah, I'm

1:04:37

really grateful for this podcast

1:04:37

and, and just that ability to

1:04:40

reflect on ginagawa. But as long

1:04:40

as we get up each day, and we

1:04:44

try our best for our kids,

1:04:44

that's enough. You know, I think

1:04:47

if you question if you're a good

1:04:47

mom or not, you're a good mom.

1:04:51

Like and that's just it. Like if

1:04:51

you're asking the question, then

1:04:54

you must be because you care. So yeah, that's that's what I

1:04:57

want to be for my kids. So,

1:05:00

this is a very, very emotional

1:05:00

Podcast coming to the end. Yeah.

1:05:07

Now I'm just I can't really

1:05:07

speak that much. So, someone

1:05:11

else host because I'm like, I

1:05:11

can't even like yeah, this is

1:05:15

just really hard because it's

1:05:15

like, it's hard. But it's also

1:05:18

rewarding. Like being a mom and

1:05:18

doing the things that we want to

1:05:23

do. So, you know, I hope even,

1:05:23

there's gonna be some young moms

1:05:27

that are gonna listen to this,

1:05:27

and they're just gonna feel

1:05:30

inspired to just do better or be

1:05:30

better. And again, like JJ said,

1:05:34

just like, just try your best

1:05:34

because that's all I say to

1:05:37

myself everyday, try your best,

1:05:37

and then go to bed and just know

1:05:40

that you tried your best. So

1:05:40

last but not least, Jade, please

1:05:45

tell us what you think about the

1:05:45

future. For your two amazing

1:05:49

boys. Tell us please. Oh, the last person to go. I

1:05:52

just think firstly, just hearing

1:05:59

everyone today. I'm just like, I

1:05:59

don't want to stop fighting. I

1:06:03

think everything about me and

1:06:03

what I teach my son and

1:06:06

obviously, for our whole

1:06:06

conversation, he's been

1:06:10

listening. And that's what I

1:06:10

teach my son every single day.

1:06:14

Cavani you're a leader. If you

1:06:14

ask Avani What does mommy say to

1:06:18

every day? Come on, you're a

1:06:18

leader and you're born to change

1:06:21

people's life. What's going to

1:06:21

make you prosperous in life is

1:06:25

helping others. And I think

1:06:25

that's all I'm about. I remember

1:06:29

when I was 15. And I had my son,

1:06:29

and I just, I didn't want to

1:06:32

live anymore. The only thing

1:06:32

that made me want to live was

1:06:34

him. And even sometimes when I

1:06:34

looked at him, it was just like,

1:06:38

I can't even offer you anything.

1:06:38

I'm 15 I have a school tie on a

1:06:42

blazer i What can I do for you.

1:06:42

I'm looking back now. And I was

1:06:47

the youngest female to stand in

1:06:47

Croydon as a conservative

1:06:51

councillor, I've sat on the same

1:06:51

row as the Prime Minister Boris

1:06:55

Johnson. And I'm kind of

1:06:55

directing a charity that

1:07:00

employed hundreds of young

1:07:00

parents and delivered sessions

1:07:03

in school about teenage

1:07:03

pregnancy prevention. And I'm

1:07:07

just getting started, I know for

1:07:07

sure. One day, I'll be an MP, I

1:07:11

just know that that's what I'm

1:07:11

gonna be. And I'm not gonna stop

1:07:15

until I get there. I wasn't born

1:07:15

to not create change. I was born

1:07:19

to change policies to impact

1:07:19

change, and to inspire young

1:07:24

people, especially young parents

1:07:24

that this is not the end for us.

1:07:29

Obviously, I'm a Christian, and

1:07:29

I believe in God, we had

1:07:32

children young for a reason. And

1:07:32

that was to inspire and educate

1:07:36

others, you have an a child,

1:07:36

whether you have the child with

1:07:38

you or not, is so that your

1:07:38

story can help and prevent

1:07:42

someone else from experiencing

1:07:42

the same thing. So I guess my

1:07:46

closing statement in this is

1:07:46

never lose sight of why you was

1:07:50

born and why you are creative.

1:07:50

That child that you have is a

1:07:53

testament of your strength and

1:07:53

your words, and your life story

1:07:57

is what's going to keep somebody

1:07:57

else from saying, I don't want

1:08:01

to die today. And I meet so many

1:08:01

young parents that say they just

1:08:05

had enough, you know, they don't

1:08:05

know what to do that they can't

1:08:09

cope anymore. And it's good to

1:08:09

say that is my child that gets

1:08:12

up every morning. But there may

1:08:12

be that one day where you you

1:08:15

just lose your train of thought

1:08:15

is that inside where you have to

1:08:19

make a young parent understand

1:08:19

that you can do it, forget your

1:08:23

child for a second, because

1:08:23

they're gonna grow old one day,

1:08:26

and I left home at 15. So I do

1:08:26

hope my son ever does that. But

1:08:31

it's about you and your well

1:08:31

being to your mental health. And

1:08:34

if you're okay, I'm telling you,

1:08:34

your spouse, your child, or your

1:08:38

son or your daughter, so it's

1:08:38

kind of emotional for me because

1:08:41

I have my son here. And I talk

1:08:41

like this to him every single

1:08:45

day. And obviously, he's looking

1:08:45

at me smiling because he already

1:08:47

knows why I'm with him. We need

1:08:47

to teach our children. He said

1:08:51

he's not smiling. But he is we

1:08:51

need to teach our children that

1:08:54

they're leaders. They're born

1:08:54

leaders that the next CEOs, the

1:08:58

next prime ministers, the next

1:08:58

policymakers, and if we can

1:09:02

store that into them, even if

1:09:02

there's zero pounds in their

1:09:05

account or your account, or

1:09:05

sometimes you go into the Tesco

1:09:08

and you don't you can't even buy

1:09:08

bread. If the next 15 to 20

1:09:12

years of you continuously

1:09:12

telling yourself that you can

1:09:15

make it you can do it. So I'm so

1:09:15

glad I've joined today. Thank

1:09:20

you, Bethany, you're actually an

1:09:20

excellent host, I must say. And

1:09:25

yeah, good luck, guys. We're

1:09:25

gonna make it.

1:09:29

I never expected to get so

1:09:29

emotional to the end. Dave,

1:09:33

thank you. I'm just, I'm just

1:09:33

trying to be myself. I'm just

1:09:38

again, like, you know, who would

1:09:38

have known just me like when I

1:09:41

had my son. I had nobody, no

1:09:41

help at all. And unless you go

1:09:46

to one of the best universities

1:09:46

in the world, again, I'm gonna I

1:09:49

know I'm going to accomplish

1:09:49

amazing things. I don't know

1:09:53

what I'm going to be. I could be

1:09:53

anything. I could be an

1:09:55

investment bank. I could be a

1:09:55

lawyer. I could be anything in

1:09:57

terms of the course that I do.

1:09:57

But one thing that I I'm always

1:10:00

going to be in terms of right

1:10:00

now and today in the context of

1:10:04

this podcast, I'm always going

1:10:04

to be a mum. And like I said,

1:10:07

I'll be a mum to many children,

1:10:07

not just my own son, Prince. And

1:10:14

yeah, this is just going out to

1:10:14

all the mums. Thank you and

1:10:19

other people listening. Thank

1:10:19

you for listening to our podcast

1:10:22

today. Yeah, it's just been so

1:10:22

great. And please share this. We

1:10:27

really need everyone to hear our

1:10:27

voices and hear what we have to

1:10:31

say. And thank you everyone for

1:10:31

coming. Girls. You've been

1:10:35

amazing while women actually

1:10:35

women you will amazing ladies,

1:10:39

you've been amazing. Yeah, thank

1:10:39

you. If you want more

1:10:44

information, then visit our blog

1:10:44

at www.centerpointe.org/blog.

1:10:52

Don't forget Centerpoint offers

1:10:52

free advice via the centerpoint

1:10:56

helpline to anyone aged 16 to

1:10:56

25. who is homeless or at risk

1:11:02

of homelessness. Call us free on

1:11:02

Oh 88000661 We're open Monday to

1:11:13

Friday 9am to 5pm. You can also

1:11:13

leave us a message on our

1:11:18

website at

1:11:18

www.centerpointe.org.uk/youth

1:11:25

homelessness slash get help now.

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