Care leaver's thanks for 'amazing' festive hampers

A young care leaver from Huddersfield has said that receiving Christmas hampers from a West Yorkshire charity has made him feel "that bit more looked out for".

Josh, 23, received two parcels put together by the Mirfield-based Northorpe Hall Child and Family Trust after the charity was inundated with donations.

It teamed up with the local care leavers service in Kirklees, which supports about 350 people, many of them living independently without family to fall back on.

About 140 hampers are being distributed to care leavers across the district as part of the charity's tenth Christmas appeal, with Josh saying receiving his packages was "amazing".

The charity said about 70 care leavers in Kirklees were expected to receive a hamper containing wellbeing treats, such as shower gel, bath bombs, face masks and warm socks or blankets, and another with festive treats like chocolate and biscuits.

For many of the young people receiving the hampers, it would be their first Christmas living independently and some faced the prospect of doing that on their own, according to the charity.

Josh, who was in the care system from the age of about five, said it was good to know there was someone who "had his back", adding that the support charities gave could often be a "lifeline".

"It's the difference between worrying and being able to say to yourself you're going to be all right," Josh said.

Fareda, one of the volunteers who packed the hampers, said she was helping out because care leavers faced "so many challenges" and many "don't have anybody".

"What concerns me is that they don't have anyone to ring up for help," she added.

Another charity volunteer, Gemma Murphy-Sanderson, said: "It's very difficult at Christmas.

"These are 16, 17 and 18-year-olds who are expected to go out into the world with very little support, living on their own for the first time.

"You just think, I needed quite a lot of support at that age and I had family, but these people have nobody."

Meanwhile, Josh said without the hampers, "I'd still be worrying about treating myself this Christmas, or being able to manage certain things.

"But it's just taken the edge off, which is amazing."

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