'I want to be a role model for other care leavers'

A woman who spent her teenage years in foster care is starting a business to support other young people in the care system.

Shannon Budd was placed in foster care when she was of 15, right in the middle of her GCSEs,

The 24-year-old now shares her experiences of that period of her life, along with advice for other youngsters in care, on her TikTok account, which has more than a thousand followers.

"When I was in the system, I had all these meetings and I just didn't understand it because you're essentially doing adult business," Budd said.

"I had the brazen idea to put all the information I know into a guide booklet to help other care leavers."

She took to the social media platform to promote her business idea as well as support other young people.

"I know a lot of care leavers often feel embarrassed about their situations, which they shouldn't," she added.

"I've even had people from London message me, asking me for advice and I've guided them in the right place.

"Don't forget, I'm not a professional. I'm just care-experienced and wanting to make a change and it's really opened my eyes"

After one video which featured her booklet garnered more than 130,000 views and hundreds of comments, Budd said she was "completely shocked."

She said her idea was to take a more child friendly approach to encouraging youngsters when they were considering their career paths and life goals.

"They want fun, they want learning - so that's what I'm trying to do," she said.

The first mock-up of her booklet recently arrived, and Budd said she was keen to emphasise that it was written in "layman's terms" to make it easy to understand.

"They're children at the end of the day, they're meant to be thinking about if they slept in too long, or if they've had too much chocolate," she added.

"Not about what they're doing in five years."

Reflecting on her own experiences of foster care, the 24-year-old believed there was still a stigma surrounding being a child in care.

"I feel like we get tarnished with names like naughty, or hard to deal with," she said.

Budd hoped her venture would show those children currently in care that they could have "dreams and hopes."

"That's what I'm trying to be, a role model for somebody in the care system," she explained.

"I believe we're all superheroes to be honest, because going through that situation and still coming out on the other side is amazing."

Her aim, she said, was for young people in the care system "to be looked at in a good light, rather than just a tragic victim or a naughty child."

"We're just trying to excel in life like any other human being. It's our first time living too, and we deserve a fair chance," Budd said.

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