“I had a difficult childhood… I was frequently excluded from school.” Growing up in care was far from easy for CJ Hamilton. And like so many others, he faced the start of his adult life feeling vulnerable.

There are 40,000 care leavers in the UK. Without the support of a stable home, it’s so easy for the future to look uncertain. Who can you turn to for guidance? How can you build your sense of self-worth if you feel powerless? It’s no wonder so many in this situation struggle to find direction in life.

The fact is, those leaving a residential children’s home are more likely to have a conviction, become a young parent, or experience mental health issues than their peers in more stable homes. “If I am anything to go by,” says CJ, “the local authorities and charities supporting care leavers’ transition to adulthood should definitely be focusing on psychological and emotional outcomes.”

Through ambition and determination, CJ has worked hard to pursue his education. Specialising in care and social sciences, he has a passion to help those starting out in life as he did. Now, he’s working with the University of Warwick to shape the destiny of youngsters leaving care.

CJ is a Research Associate taking part in the EXploring Innovation in Transition (EXIT) Study. The project, led by Graeme Currie, Professor of Public Management, uses the experience of CJ and others like him to develop pilot schemes that improve opportunities for care leavers.

It’s an ongoing project, but EXIT is making strides by combining real life insight with data analysis to deliver practical, sustainable solutions.

“The question that the EXIT study poses,” says CJ, “is how do we scale up some of these innovative pilot schemes for care leavers? Only when we do, can we finally improve the social capital of care-experienced young people, and thus, their chances in life.”