Cumbria Youth Alliance works with and for young people so they can reach their potential, with extra, consistent support for those with care experience. As both a delivery organisation and the county’s lead youth sector body, CYA reaches over 1,500 young people a year and supports more than 260 youth organisations. Its Leaving Care Transition Project and Care Leavers Hub, run with Cumberland Council, blend mentoring, independent living skills and practical support. Operating across one of England’s most rural counties, CYA has built a place-based model that overcomes isolation and transport barriers, offering a rural approach that complements the urban Action Hubs.

The Care Leaver Covenant is a national programme that connects care leavers aged 16 to 25 with organisations pledging real, practical opportunities as they move into independent adulthood. Signatories from business, charities, education and the public sector commit to concrete offers: apprenticeships, work placements, mentoring, discounts and access to essential services, so care-experienced young people get the same chances as their peers in employment, education, housing and health. Since it launched, the Covenant has brought together hundreds of partner organisations across the UK and created thousands of opportunities, while building a shared responsibility for care leavers’ futures.