38 “EXPECT MORE FROM YOUNG CARE LEAVERS” Mary-anne Hodd reveals how a set-back when she was 21 became the inspiration for a scheme she hopes will help thousands of care leavers across the country.
“Despite growing up in care, I never believed my future should be different to anybody else’s,” says Mary-anne Hodd. “I worked hard at school, and got good grades. I was the first in my family to go to university, graduating from Bristol with a 2:1 in psychology. “By the time I moved back home to Devon from uni, I was 21 and excited for the next independent phase of my life. I made a plan to move into a house with four friends while I was studying for my PGCE qualification to become a teacher.” But Mary-anne’s plans were derailed when the application process flagged
up a problem she hadn’t anticipated. She had no one to act at a guarantor for her rent. “I honestly hadn’t considered it; so many of my peers from uni were doing the same thing and, in my naivety, I just assumed I could too. “When this hurdle reared its head, I started contacting long-lost family members and family friends to try to find someone who could act as my guarantor. “AT FIRST I WAS EMBARRASSED, AND THEN I STARTED TO GET FRUSTRATED WITH THE SYSTEM.
