Good morning. Welcome back to Survival Guide. Isabella here.

How different would your life be if the government gave you £1,600 a month with no strings attached? What about if that was suddenly taken away after two years and you were stripped of that income?

That’s what happened to hundreds of care leavers in Wales. The scheme was designed to address the poverty and instability young people who have been brought up in the care system often face, without family support to help them through the early stages of adulthood.

We find out more about what happened in this newsletter – how it was a lifeline for young care leavers and gave them hope for their futures, but how it caught the attention of right-wing press and came with other unforeseen consequences due to mismanagement.

Also in this week’s newsletter, we meet unpaid carer Matthew McKenzie, who is a carer to his mother and two non-verbal autistic brothers. He is one of more than five million unpaid carers in England and Wales, who often go unrecognised and unsupported while doing essential work, many for more than 50 hours a week.

Read on for more…

This newsletter will be back in a couple of weeks as I am on annual leave next week. In the mean time, if you’ve got a story to share, we want to listen. Get in touch at isabella.mcrae@bigissue.com or share your story here.

Hundreds of care leavers were given free money, no strings attached. Here's what happened

In 2022, Wales launched the UK’s first basic income pilot for care leavers – an ambitious experiment offering more than 600 young people £1,600 a month (£1,290 after tax), with no conditions attached.

The two-year scheme, available for those who turned 18 between 1 July 2022 and 30 June 2023, aimed to address the poverty and instability that often define the transition from the care system to adulthood.

For 20-year-old Annalise from Caerphilly, who had her son just three months before the pilot began, the money brought security and dignity. “I was able to buy him his formula, toys and new clothes without worrying,” she told Big Issue. “Knowing I could help him like that, and him not watching his mam struggle to put food on the table, honestly, felt like a blessing.”

It meant they didn’t have to worry about essentials like food. They were able to go on day trips, buy a bike, and join a gym. One participant was able to take a taxi to the hospital, when ambulance waiting times were too long.

But it coincided with the cost of living crisis, and it drew criticism across the UK – particularly from the right-wing press. The payments also pushed some recipients just above the threshold for legal aid and care leavers taking part became ineligible for vital support.

And so the scheme ground to a halt, and the participants suddenly had to cope without.

Annalise says: “Trying to work out finances a different way was a little bit of a struggle. I believe the basic income for care leavers should continue as it’s so helpful, especially when you’re starting to get on your feet as an adult. But they need to look into how they manage it better.”

Read the full story.

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Matthew's story: 'I was invisible'

When Matthew McKenzie’s mum became ill in 2003, his life changed overnight.

“The first time I went to see her, in the inpatient unit, I was shocked,” he says. “I thought, ‘That can’t be my mum, no way.’ But that’s the devastating impact of mental illness.”

Matthew’s mother, who previously cared for his two non-verbal autistic brothers, had developed schizophrenia. As her condition deteriorated, Matthew – then working as a programmer – suddenly found himself responsible for all three of them.

“It was a big change,” he recalls. “But that’s life, isn’t it? It was a duty.”

There are millions of unpaid carers, just like Matthew, who are working sometimes as much as 50 hours a week to look after their loved ones.

The Unpaid Care Dashboard, a new interactive online tool, visualises data around unpaid carers between 2011 and 2021. It’s the first time this data – spanning a decade – has been made accessible in such detail.

For carers like McKenzie, this kind of visibility is vital.

“When I saw this dashboard, you know, I was impressed,” he said. “Because all the time, I was firefighting, navigating the system, crisis after crisis. I was invisible. It matters that carers can be counted.”

Read more about Matthew’s story here. 

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