Care-experienced young people face social exclusion, fewer opportunities, and more discrimination – labelled as a ‘looked-after’ child. Young people leaving care are thrust into the adult world before they are ready. Without the support of family and friends, they are more likely to have insecure jobs, become homeless, have mental health issues, offending behaviour and substance misuse.

Young people in care often report they feel isolated and uninspired. Young people tell us

At NYAS, we listen to what children and young people want. We care about what they say, and we empower them to have their voices heard, especially when other people are making decisions about their future.

As part of our mission, we ensure that the wishes and feelings of care-experienced young people are expressed and acted upon. The aim of this is to improve their situation, and to help them build a better future.

NYAS will never stop in our efforts to influence, lobby and campaign for positive change. Through all that we do, we want to ensure that the rights of every child, young person and vulnerable adult are understood and upheld.

We offer a range of services that advocate for care experienced people's rights and give them a voice to be heard. We provide volunteer independent visitors who befriend a young person, often being the only adult in their life who isn't paid to be there.

At NYAS Cymru we also provide Parent Advocacy services:

Parent Advocacy is the act of supporting and speaking up for the rights and wishes of parents with children involved in the Child Protection process or for those with education and health concerns. We are independent of all other agencies involved in the process and we are completely parent led. The aim in Parent Advocacy is to encourage and empower parents to advocate for themselves and feel confident to make their thoughts and wishes known. Parent Advocacy provides early intervention and intensive support to parents to ensure their rights are upheld, their voices are heard in decision making processes, and to navigate the systems with the aim to keep families together wherever safe and possible to do so.

We need your help to help us to do more....

Join in our Parent Advocacy team in the Swansea Inflatable 5k event to help us to reach more care experienced children, young people and vulnerable adults.

When you support NYAS, you enable us to continue delivering essential support services to care experienced children and young people, and vulnerable adults. When you support us, whether it’s with time or money, you help us to make a difference.

Every donation, helps us to change lives.