Chris Wild

1996, I left care and found myself in a bedsit. My first Christmas Day I had a Pot Noodle on my own. Fast forward 30 years and young people leaving care are doing the same. How can we let this happen? Children in care are still children.

@SaraWahedi Love this

Made it my life’s mission to become the Taliban’s worst nightmare: A highly educated Afghan woman. First, Columbia University at the top of my class, and now Oxford University. Give Afghan girls one chance and see what they can achieve.

This is old, but it’s still relevant because nothing has changed. In fact, things have only got worse. We now have more illegal care homes housing our most vulnerable children than ever before. More children and young people in the care system are being abused, groomed into criminal gangs, exploited by predators, and tragically, too many are taking their own lives. I’ll say it again — this is the worst it has ever been. youtu.be/UJVKivzDLR8?si…

I get young people from our care system reaching out to me every single week about discrimination. Young people forced to live like second-class citizens because society has decided that’s all they’re entitled to. I’ve just come back from Europe delivering the same message, people think it’s not their problem, but it will be when we lose a whole generation of young people through social neglect. The cost of ignoring this crisis runs into billions. But by investing in young people properly — education, employment, safe housing, opportunity — we don’t just change lives, we save billions too. That’s real social impact. The question is not whether we can afford to act — it’s whether we can afford not to.

Governments, past and present, have ignored the warning signs in children’s social care for far too long. But the solution is right in front of us, if we start looking at the care system through the lens of a protected characteristic, we can stop young people leaving care and ending up homeless. We can stop them falling into the hands of criminal gangs. And we can stop care-experienced young people from feeling so abandoned and unheard that they take their own lives. #Thestateofit

There seems to be very little discussion in politics about children in care and care leavers. Regardless of which party forms the next government, there is a serious crisis that needs far more attention. We should not forget that a 15-year-old girl was reportedly raped in a children’s home in Durham a few months ago, yet there appears to have been very little public response or accountability.

@JakeBenRichards @NazShahBfd Naz is incredible

This was an extraordinary speech. Although on opposite sides of the debate, was struck by, and learnt so much from, @NazShahBfd’s dogged and careful determination during the assisted dying bill committee. She is a superb parliamentarian.

In 2026, hundreds of children are still being abused in our care system — physically, mentally, and sexually. More young people in care are taking their own lives than ever before. The government refuses to change the law and make care experience a protected characteristic. Instead, care-experienced people are left to pay the price through homelessness, unemployment, prison, mental health wards, and premature deaths. Thats the reality for those who are abandoned by the state. A system that was meant to protect children has failed.

There’s a shift happening in politics, and people are finally speaking out. Yet thousands of young people in our care system still feel abandoned. In 2022, we called for care experience to be recognised as a protected characteristic — because every young person deserves legal protection, dignity, and support. Imagine blocking something that could help stop young people in care from becoming homeless, being groomed into criminal gangs, or exploited by predators. Imagine turning your back on protections that could tackle discrimination across every sector and help prevent the devastating rise in suicides among care-experienced young people. How many more young lives have to be failed before people finally act?

@lemnsissay Love

Mayday Mayday. My new website launches today. It is Tell Me Something About Family. tellmesomething.family The website is a world map and for every message a pin prick of light appears. Zoom in on the light to see the messages around the world. To contribute a message click on "Take Part". There is no data collection. The site is pure. It is my art work. You can upload photographs too if you like. It will be live for 31 days from today. It is the month of my birthday. Opening this site for this month is my birthday present and so is every one of your entries. tellmesomething.family .

I started campaigning to make care experience a protected characteristic in 2022. Since then, Terry Galloway and I have spoken to thousands of young people leaving care who have faced discrimination simply because they grew up in care. In 2025 alone, 91 young people in the care system took their own lives. That should shame every single person in power. With a general election just around the corner, I still don’t see political parties truly prioritising the most vulnerable children in this country. How many more young people have to be failed before real change happens? If those in power won’t create change, then we have to become that change.

@CllrGuzel @_Nawshad_Ali Great work

The 2026 local elections are officially over, and what a journey it’s been. I’m so proud of our local activists and grateful to have worked alongside some fantastic Labour Party candidates. A huge thank you to everyone who helped out and supported us throughout the campaign🌹❤️

@Bella12Claire @PortsmouthGhall @fairways @portsmouthtoday Thank you. Next time. X

@ccwild79 Great talk today at @PortsmouthGhall for the @fairways & @fosteringportsmouth @portsmouthtoday. I was abit star stuck and wished I’d bought my book for you to sign 😅

Promises, promises — and still nothing changes. Meanwhile, thousands of young people in the care system are being failed every single day. These are not statistics. These are young people with talent, ambition, and potential, yet too many are growing up without the support they need to thrive in their own communities. We do not need another review. We do not need more warm words or political theatre. We need action. The care system is on its knees. It is at breaking point. So why are we still afraid to do something bold? Make care experience a protected characteristic. Give care-experienced young people the legal recognition and protection they deserve. It has never been done before — but neither has the scale of this crisis. If the current system is failing, then we have a duty to try something different. Because right now, doing nothing is not neutrality. It is abandonment.

For decades, children and young people in our care system have been failed and left to live in dangerous environments. Review after review has exposed the same devastating truths, yet little has changed. We now have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to transform the system, save lives, and finally make care experience a protected characteristic. I fear this may be the only chance we get. For many young people, that failure could mean the difference between life and death. It's time for action or... More young people in our care system will be abused, and more will take their own lives. That’s the sad reality.

@AshleyJBaptiste @lemnsissay Love

Working on a long form audio documentary for The Observer. Will reveal more when I can. But thoroughly enjoyed recording with @lemnsissay & Nkechi Simms today. Big love for our producer, Madeleine, too. 💚

Two young people in our care system are taking their own lives every week. Every week. That should weigh heavily on every politician heading into the general election. In 2022, the Independent Care Review was published. One of its key recommendations — backed by the majority of professionals involved, myself included — was to recognise care experience as a protected characteristic. Since then, another report has laid bare the tragic loss of young lives. These are not isolated incidents. They are clear warnings we are choosing not to act on. Unless this government delivers meaningful action — not token gestures — more young people will die. This is not inevitable. It is preventable. I know this from my own experience. If we act now, we can save lives. I’m taking this message across Europe, making it clear that children in care are still children — and they deserve to be treated as such.

I left the care system in 1996 at 16. Twenty-eight years later, I returned as a professional—and found that nothing has changed. People may not like what I have to say, but the truth is still the truth. The same mistakes persist. The same favouritism. The same failures. I will not be silent, and I will not be used as a pawn. This is not a situation that calls for neutrality—because children and young people in our care system are dying. I bring 15 years of experience in this sector. I know what’s broken, and I know how to fix it. And thats exactly what I'm doing.

@lizanelly1 @SocialWorkEng @LGOmbudsman @ICOnews @CareQualityComm Love it

@lizanelly1 Email me

I recently heard a powerful point made by a politician. She explained that she has challenged ministers on the government’s heavy focus on terrorism, arguing that it represents a relatively small risk—around 5%—in comparison to the significantly greater risks faced by women and children. Building on that argument, it is equally important to recognise that a substantial proportion of vulnerable young people in the care system—potentially as many as 70%—face a wide range of dangers on a daily basis. Despite this, their needs receive disproportionately little attention and prioritisation.