My story
It started with a brown envelope and an empty room.
One Set of Footprints CIC started with me sending off for my own care records. When the envelope came, there was no one with me. No therapist, no social worker, no friend who understood. Just me and the pages.
What I read was a history of abuse and neglect I hadn't known about, written in official language, kept in a file for decades and posted back to me with no warning. Four files, all mixed up together. No context. No answers.
"I realised I couldn't be the only one. So I built the thing I'd needed and didn't have."
Now I run One Set of Footprints CIC so nobody else has to open that envelope alone. I work with social workers, therapists and other care experienced people to put proper, gentle support around every part of the process, from the first thought of asking for your file to the long stretch of trying to make sense of it afterwards.
What I stand for
Lived experience first
Everything I do is shaped by people who've walked this road themselves. I only build what I would have wanted.
Trauma informed, always
Your pace. Your choice. Nothing rushed, nothing forced. Safety first, every time.
Practical, not performative
Real help in real moments. Fewer campaigns, more sitting alongside someone when it matters.
My story
A bit about me
I set this up from my own experience of care. I know what it feels like to ask for your records and then have to read them with nobody there.
When my files turned up there was no professional in the room. Just pages of official language telling me about things I hadn't known, four files mixed up, decades old, handed back with no care for how I might land with them.
What started as me looking for my own answers became a promise, nobody else should have to do this on their own.
Now, through One Set of Footprints CIC, I work with other care experienced adults, adopted adults, professionals and community partners to offer gentle, trauma informed support, advocacy and honest guidance.
The little boy in the first photo is a dad now, walking a different path, and doing what he can so others don't have to walk theirs alone.
"I realised I couldn't be the only one. So I built the thing I'd needed and didn't have."
Want to be part of this?
Whether you've lived it, worked in it, or both, I'd love to hear from you.
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