When I became part of the care community professionally, relationally and through my personal connections to care, I thought I understood what it meant to “show up.” I thought being present, being committed, and being passionate was enough. But what I have learned, year after year, is that care isn’t a task you perform; it’s a truth that transforms you. It repositions you. It unravels parts of you. And if you let it, it rebuilds you into someone who listens more deeply, acts more intentionally, and stands more firmly beside those whose voices matter most: care-experienced young people and adults.

This Care Day, more than any other, I find myself reflecting not just on what I do, but why – and perhaps most importantly, who I do it for.

As we recognise Care Day, I’m committing to remembering lives and experiences, that support is never linear. We can continue to consider each other, challenge each other, and hold ourselves accountable for our decisions, actions, focus, and the heart of our work. 

I often think about the young people and adults who taught me what resilience really means. The young people who shared stories, who challenged me, corrected me, trusted me, avoided me, sought me out, laughed with me, felt safe to cry – or allowed me to walk a few steps beside them.

Not one of those moments was simple. But all of them were significant. And that is why we keep showing up.  Not because we believe we can fix everything. Not because we think we hold all the answers. Not because we are heroes in anyone’s story. But because someone once told us their truth, and we knew we had a responsibility to honour it.

So this Care Day,  I choose to celebrate every voice that has shaped my understanding, challenged my assumptions – or reminded me that care-experience is not a single narrative but a spectrum of humanity.

It is the ongoing commitment to doing our very best. That’s what Care Day means to me. 

#CareDay