My promise is to make suré all young folk grow up surrounded by love

"I AM often asked what I cherished what I cherished most from my time as first minister and it never takes me long to the answer – the thousands of chats I was privileged to have with people from all walks of life. 

- NICOLA STURGEON

When people find the courage to share their experiences, it is because they trust that it will make a difference and change things for the better – I never took that trust for granted.

I always tried to draw on these conversations when making decisions and many of them will stick with me forever.

But there are few, if any, encounters lodged more firmly in my heart than those I had with young people who were, or had been, in the care system.

In 2016, at the invitation of Who Cares? Scotland, I made a commitment to speak with 1000 young people about their experiences of care.

I could not have imagined then how profound the impact on me would be.

These conversations are the hardest I’ve ever had. I already knew the statistics – that care- experienced young people are more likely to be excluded from school, less likely to go to university, more likely to suffer mental health issues and experience homelessness and more likely to die young.

The statistics are shaming but it was the 1000 Voices campaign that introduced me to the people behind them.

These conversations would often bring me to tears. I heard from young people who had been separated from their brothers and sisters when taken into care – in some cases losing touch completely.