Through two projects designed by SOS Children's Villages, findings show that care leavers experience a range of emotions when leaving their place of care: a mix of happiness and expectations of freedom and independence along with feelings of loneliness, anxiety and, sometimes, fear. Care leavers have concerns about their protection, inadequate levels of support, the unsatisfactory manner in which support is offered, lack of access to services, and insufficient participation in decision-making. They feel their needs and wishes are not being fully met by those responsible for supporting them through the care leaving process.2 The content of this Call to Action comes from what we have heard from young people with care experience as well as from the professionals working with them. A draft was prepared before the conference “Be the Change! Partnering to improve the transition from alternative care to independent living” and was adapted based on the feedback received by participants and the conclusions that came out of the different discussions that took place in Bucharest on 12 and 13 June, 2019.
