By Lemn Sissay

Christmas asks one simple question: where do you belong?

Every advert, every film, every doorway with a festive wreath seems to point us toward the same idea - that somewhere, there is a home waiting, a family gathering, a place at the table with your name on it. But for thousands of young people who grew up in care, that place does not exist.

When I left institutions at seventeen I remember the silence of Christmas Day. I tried to treat it like any other date, but it wasn’t. It confirmed what I already suspected: that everyone else had somewhere to go, and I didn’t.

Christmas was a reminder of everything I’d never had. I have said before that Christmas divides us into two types - those who have somewhere to go on Christmas Day and those who don’t.

Around 12,000 young people leave the UK care system every year. Some at eighteen, some earlier. Overnight, they are expected to step into adulthood; no family to fall back on, no safety net.

At Christmas, many receive nothing more than a supermarket voucher from their local authority.

The hardest part is the weeks........

© LBC