Care leaver 'proud' of giraffe art trail message

The trail is a partnership between Break, Wild in Art, Cambridge BID and Alan Boswell Group

An aspiring engineer says a new art trail has made him proud because every person, including care leavers, should be able to dream big.

Tomasz, 21, from Cambridgeshire, left care in 2020 and said he almost immediately felt "loneliness".

He found support through the Break charity, which aids young people on the edge of, in, or leaving care.

A giraffe art trail has been installed around Cambridge to raise money for the charity and to 'stand tall' with care leavers.

Break said that 18-year-olds in care were often not ready to leave or be fully independent

The art trail of 31 large giraffes and 62 mini sculptures will be in the city for 10 weeks before an auction to raise funds for Break.

Spokesperson Nikki Neile said Break felt giraffes best represented the work done by the charity for their "big hearts" and height as "we stand tall with our care leavers".

The sculptures were decorated by artists, schools and community groups.

Tomasz, who did not want his surname published, previewed the submitted designs before they were installed.

"It is yet another brilliant thing about Break - they support care leavers with opportunities like these, which not many people get to do," he said.

"The message standing tall makes me proud, because every person should be able to dream big, have huge ambitions and a good life, and this applies to care leavers."

'Loneliness'

Tomasz aspires to be a technical operations engineer, but has thought about studying for social care.

He left care during the pandemic but thought living on his own would not be ground breaking as he had been in a semi-independent placement since he was 15.

But Covid restrictions coincided with the move and it was a "nerve wracking" experience.

Tomasz said: "I almost immediately experienced loneliness. I already suffered from mental health issues, but moving on my own made it much worse at the start."

He discovered Break through a social worker when he was 17 and said it went "above and beyond" to support him.

"At first I thought I could do it on my own, that quickly turned into a bad decision, so I let the help come to me, which I now utilise to the best of my abilities."

He added that he was proud of the message behind the art installations in Cambridge.

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Peter Marron, project manager for Break, said: "We hope that by delivering a fun, family day out across the city that the trail will be enjoyed by explorers of all ages across the next 10 weeks; while at the same time raising much-needed funds to make life better for young adults leaving care."

Trail-goers can find the sculptures by using the Cambridge Standing Tall app or maps available from trail hubs.