In their own words

Gemma McGann is a Young Consultant at CREATE Foundation and a passionate advocate for child protection reform. Drawing on her own lived experience in the child welfare system, Gemma is dedicated to amplifying the voices of young people in care and driving meaningful change across Australia's child protection landscape.

In this video she shares impactful stories from young people with lived experience of the care system. These stories highlight the importance of relationships for young people. 

To see more from Gemma, you can follow her on LinkedIn here. 

Story 1: "What saved me was that we stayed together"

At eight, my sisters and I were moved into foster care. What saved me was that we stayed together. Our carer treated us like a unit, same school, same bedtime chats, same silly in jokes. When decisions were made, my worker would check in with all three of us, not just the file. Staying with my siblings helped me feel less broken and more like a normal kid figuring things out.

Story 2: "I felt like my voice could change anything"

I learned quickly that complaining could backfire in residential care. I worried that if I said a staff member scared me, I'd be moved again or labeled as difficult, so I stayed quiet even when I felt unsafe. It wasn't until a youth worker with care experience visited our house that I started talking. She didn't judge. She believed me. That was the first time I felt like my voice could change anything.

Story 3: "I wasn't failing. I was learning."

On paper, I had a leaving care plan. In real life, I had a plastic folder, a share house I'd never seen, and a key. No one had shown me how to budget, set up power or cope with my anxiety kicked in at 2am. I messed up bills, skipped meals and nearly lost the place. Things only started to shift when a leaving care worker sat with me every week. Not to tick boxes, but to do things together and remind me I wasn't failing. I was learning.

Story 4: "Now when I speak, I know it can shift more"

At first, being on a youth advisory group felt like decoration. We sat in meetings while adults talked over us. Over time that changed. Leaders started pausing and asking, "What do you think would work here?". When I shared my experience of being moved away from my from my brother, they rewrote a policy to prioritise keeping siblings together. Now when I speak, I know it can shift more than just the mood in the room.