Absolutely buzzing to have received an email this morning, inviting me to join the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Homelessness and Rough Sleeping Lived Experience Forum!!

I was very delighted to receive a lovely reply from Cllr Luis Navarro, Vice-Chair of the Adults and Health Committee, this morning, stating he'll pass my email onto the relevant senior officers across Adults, Public Health, and Children’s Services to consider the matter

Kerrie Portman@kerrieportman.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Yesterday, I wrote to Cambridgeshire County Council's Coroner's office, and then the Adults and Health Committee, asking them to consider recording the #Care status, as far as possible, for all deaths they investigate.

Yesterday, I wrote to Cambridgeshire County Council's Coroner's office, and then the Adults and Health Committee, asking them to consider recording the #Care status, as far as possible, for all deaths they investigate.

#LeftToRot by Daniel Hewitt arrived in the post today! Looking forward to reading about the policy choices that led to the #HousingCrisis I've been reading quite a few political books so far this year

Its great to see the government moving to protect victims of domestic abuse in social housing, but one issue is the increased risk in the interim of reporting an abuser before they're convicted. A lot of victims choose not to report for a range of reasons www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

New bill targets domestic abusers and overhauls right to buy in England

Social housing landlords to be able to evict perpetrators, while right-to-buy tenancy requirements to rise

theguardian.com

Happy #Pride month

Last week, I wrote to all the Huntingdon Town Councillors I feel safe with, expressing my concerns about our #homeless community during the heat; thank you very much to everyone who has replied/escalated the matter!!

I hope whoever replaces Cllr Osborn in this by-election doesn't call #ChildrenInCare "evil" and actually understands and respects their role as one of our Corporate Parents whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/lo...

Cambridgeshire local election: The 4 candidates in Roman Bank & Peckover

See all 4 candidates in the Cambridgeshire local election on 25 Jun 2026: Benedict Allen (Labour Party) Diane Priscilla Cutler (Liberal Democrats) ...

whocanivotefor.co.uk

Read The Story of #TracyBeaker today, which I'd picked up from my local Bernard's charity store. It obviously isn't my usual reading as its middle-grade, but it's such a classic book about children in #Care that I DID have to read it

Disgusted to see Wakefield Council deciding to abolish their #CorporateParenting Committee in their first meeting of the new full council. What a horrible message to send to Wakefield #CareLeavers Voting at 47mins: t.co/GdLrL7h2o7 t.co/4E2sHfeDmz

Last week, I met with senior staff from Hinchingbrooke Hospital, asking them to improve the experiences of #CareLeavers and those with #MentalIllness who visit the hospital. I'm so glad they seemed keen to listen to my experiences and work with me to improve the situation!

It was 5 years ago today that the book I co-wrote a chapter of with Emily Niner from Ambitious About #Autism was published! Read the full book here: policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/covid-19-and... Read my chapter here: bristoluniversitypressdigital.com/display/book...

COVID-19 and Co-production in Health and Social Care Research, Policy, and Practice

COVID-19 and Co-production in Health and Social Care Research, Policy, and Practice - Volume 2: Co-production Methods and Working Together at a Distance; The second in a two-volume set, this book expl...

policy.bristoluniversitypress.co.uk

"In the year to April 2026 there were 106 reported deaths of care leavers. In the 12 months before there were 91. Most of those who died were aged 16 to 21" The #CareSystem is broken, and must be fixed www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

When applying for jobs, I was repeatedly told that I didn't have enough work experience, but since leaving #Care at 18, I'd been experiencing #homelessness on and off This is just one challenge #CareLeavers face Watch the Full Council meeting from 6pm: www.youtube.com/live/vPWPA87...

Full Council - 6pm Thursday 21 May 2026

youtube.com

Kerrie Portman@kerrieportman.bsky.social · 3mo ago

After emailing Cllr Charlotte Cane asking if she would introduce a guaranteed interview scheme for #CareExperienced people at East Cambs District Council, I am very excited to see it, including disabled people, being proposed at Thursday's Full Council meeting eastcambs.gov.uk/sites/defaul...

After emailing Cllr Charlotte Cane asking if she would introduce a guaranteed interview scheme for #CareExperienced people at East Cambs District Council, I am very excited to see it, including disabled people, being proposed at Thursday's Full Council meeting eastcambs.gov.uk/sites/defaul...

As part of my new campaign to improve the NHS for #CareLeavers I emailed Helen Morgan MP, as Spokesperson for Health and Social Care, and was absolutely thrilled to get an email from her office informing me she'd submitted two Written Questions to the Health Minister on my behalf!!

UCL recently published a podcast where myself and Chereece Bateson, another Care Experienced person, spoke about the importance of including #CareExperienced people in research about the #CareSystem We recorded it last year soundcloud.com/uclsound/thi...

Episode 1: This is me - 'Understanding our lives, our challenges'

Episode 1 - 'Understanding our lives, our challenges' - Creating caring research spaces for care-experienced people In this episode, Eva and Veena speak to two care-experienced guests, Chereece Bateso

soundcloud.com

Speaking of barriers for #autistic people accessing healthcare, under the Accessible Information Standard, the NHS should arrange/provide an advocate for those who need it, alongside other activities. Read more below: www.england.nhs.uk/long-read/ac...

NHS England » Accessible Information Standard – requirements (DAPB1605)

NHS England » Accessible Information Standard – requirements (DAPB1605)

england.nhs.uk

Kerrie Portman@kerrieportman.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Was really fascinating to hear @elizabethmweir.bsky.social talk to us at Youthwatch last night about her research into the link between #autism and poorer health outcomes, including difficulty accessing medical care Here's a link to her research: scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl...

Was really fascinating to hear @elizabethmweir.bsky.social talk to us at Youthwatch last night about her research into the link between #autism and poorer health outcomes, including difficulty accessing medical care Here's a link to her research: scholar.google.co.uk/citations?hl...

This is such a cool idea to support #homeless people! (Here's the link to the Whattsapp group, if anyone wants to join: chat.whatsapp.com/J1ZP8LkqFUv9...) www.theguardian.com/society/2026...

‘Group is a lifesaver’: strangers buy Wetherspoon’s meals for homeless people through app

WhatsApp group has bought tens of thousands of meals for people via Facebook page

theguardian.com

So excited to see the #ChildrensWellbeingAndSchoolsAct2026 finally come into law, Part 1 of the Act improving rights for those in #Care and #CareLeavers 🥳 (Behind on the news due to being in hospital for most of the past month) legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2026/2...

So excited to see the #RentersRightsAct coming into force today! One of the most exciting changes is the end of Section 21 'No Fault' evictions, which is a massive driver of homelessness Homes are the stable foundation for our lives, and it's about time the law gave more acknowledgment to that

Additionally, 1 in 8 #ChildrenInCare and #CareLeavers aged 4-25+ reported they do not have a good friend. The same report noted the odds of having very high well-being were over two times higher for Care Leavers who had a good friend/were not lonely www.coram.org.uk/wp-content/u...

Kerrie Portman@kerrieportman.bsky.social · 4mo ago

91% of #CareExperienced adults reported feeling lonely or isolated whilst in #Care as a child- 18% reporting feeling this "all the time" Loneliness leads to many issues, inc lower life expectancy. Supporting relationships for those in Care is vital media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/A_...

91% of #CareExperienced adults reported feeling lonely or isolated whilst in #Care as a child- 18% reporting feeling this "all the time" Loneliness leads to many issues, inc lower life expectancy. Supporting relationships for those in Care is vital media.actionforchildren.org.uk/documents/A_...

Kerrie Portman@kerrieportman.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The APPG for #CareExperienced Children and Young People has opened a new inquiry into relationships The inquiry is open from now until 19 June 2026 becomecharity.org.uk/get-involved...

"We know that 64% of care leavers in Northern Ireland present as homeless within just a few years of leaving the system [...] Without targeted support, we are setting our most vulnerable up to fail." - Jim Shannon MP t.co/aS0146GWxQ

Kerrie Portman@kerrieportman.bsky.social · 4mo ago

"In 2024-25 alone, 4,610 care leavers aged between 18 and 20 experienced homelessness. That represents a 54% increase over five years, with rates rising 2.5 times faster than among the general population" t.co/wLjOcuYiLk

"In 2024-25 alone, 4,610 care leavers aged between 18 and 20 experienced homelessness. That represents a 54% increase over five years, with rates rising 2.5 times faster than among the general population" t.co/wLjOcuYiLk

I am glad to see the government looking into the deaths of #CareLeavers but I am worried this will delay help being implemented and take money away from that help. We know what the issues are www.gov.uk/government/n...

The Renters' Reform Coalition are hosting a webinar at 7pm tomorrow evening on how to help campaign for #RentersRights at the upcoming #LocalElections events.teams.microsoft.com/event/7b12d4...

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

Microsoft Virtual Events Powered by Teams

events.teams.microsoft.com

The April sessions speaking to Children and Young People who've been in #Care in England are underway becomecharity.org.uk/about-us/new...

Register your interest for 2026 APPG - Become

The APPG for Care-Experienced Children and Young People is launching a new inquiry to examine how does the care system protect and support children’s relationships.

becomecharity.org.uk

Kerrie Portman@kerrieportman.bsky.social · 4mo ago

The APPG for #CareExperienced Children and Young People has opened a new inquiry into relationships The inquiry is open from now until 19 June 2026 becomecharity.org.uk/get-involved...

Ahead of the elections on May 7th, don't forget to register to vote before April 20th: www.gov.uk/register-to-... Registration for a postal vote closes on April 21st: www.gov.uk/apply-postal... Apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate by April 28th: www.gov.uk/apply-for-ph...

Register to vote

Register to vote to take part in elections in the UK. Includes how to get on the electoral register and how to update your address on the register.

gov.uk