Sam's Story
It felt like they didn’t trust us to be OK, even when everyone else did
“I was 15 and my brother was 13. We had the chance to visit family overseas. It would have been a 12-hour flight. Just the two of us. Family dropping us off at the airport. Family waiting on the other side to pick us up.
The airline didn’t even consider us as unaccompanied minors as we were both over 12. I’d taken a flight alone before and was fine. I was safe. Our carers were in support of us going. So was our mum.
But DCJ said no. They gave us no real explanation. They just said no.
We missed out on a rare opportunity to spend time with extended family. I felt really frustrated. And honestly, it felt like they didn’t trust us to be OK, even when everyone else did.”
- Sam’s story, a young person with lived experience of being in foster care (name changed to protect privacy). Photograph provided by Sam.