Calls to save 'life story' service which helps those who were adopted or fostered

A group tasked with helping young people in Northern Ireland who were adopted or who grew up in care find answers about their past, fears it will not get its funding renewed later this year.

Life Story Project has been funded by the Lottery Community Fund for over 10 years but that money is due to stop in August.

The service works with adoptive and foster families to help piece together unanswered questions about how a young person ended up in care, who their birth parents were and what their journey looked like.

A young Belfast woman who was helped by Life Story Project, and who wishes to remain anonymous, told UTV: "I think I could probably speak for a lot of children who have been in foster care and were adopted, there's always that feeling of 'what did I do to deserve this?'... 'did I mess up in some way'?

"It was such a relief at the end to finally hear everything, as much as some of it is quite hard to hear... but it finally gives you a bit of self worth, you know your own story now."

An adoptive parent has told UTV losing the service would be a 'travesty' for those young people who still have yet to find out about their past.

Paul Woods said: "There are so many children and young people who could and should be able to avail of the expertise and experience of those who run this project.

"For those who need that support, and are entitled to that support, it would be travesty for them if that support wasn't available because of a funding issue. Those children don't deserve that."

Sarah Johnston from Life Story Project told UTV the service is a statutory right in other parts of the UK.

"Without another funder this service will cease to exist.

"We really believe that young people in Northern Ireland are entitled to this service, unfortunately in this part of the UK it is not a statutory service."

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