Your Rights: Identity Support Resources
Figuring out your identity can be confusing, emotional, and sometimes overwhelming.
This is especially true if you grew up in environments where your identity was shaped by other people’s rules, expectations, or assumptions. You may have had carers, workers, or teachers describe you in ways that never felt accurate. You might have hidden parts of yourself to stay safe. You may never have been given space to explore who you really are.
Identity is personal.
Identity is yours.
…And as a care-experienced young person, you have rights when it comes to exploring and expressing it.
This guide explains the support, resources, and protections you are entitled to as you navigate identity in your own way and at your own pace.
A familiar moment
The short story below is a real-style example, with details changed for safeguarding. It is not meant to show a “right” way to explore identity, just one way it can begin when someone finds the right support and safe spaces:
A short story: Nova, 21, finding safe spaces to explore identity
Nova always felt there were parts of herself she had never really explored. Growing up in care meant adapting constantly - new homes, new routines, new expectations. Blending in felt like survival.
After leaving care, questions started to surface. About her cultural background. About her gender expression. About what she actually liked and valued. But she did not know where to start, and asking felt risky.
With encouragement from a mentor, Nova was introduced to local LGBTQ+ groups, online communities, and a heritage organisation connected to her background. For the first time, she felt seen rather than questioned.
Nova learned something important.
Identity grows stronger when you have safe spaces to explore it.
Your identity support rights
These rights apply while you explore who you are. You can open one at a time and take this at your own pace.
Click on each right below for more information:
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You should never be shamed, punished, or pressured for questioning who you are, exploring your culture, learning about gender or sexuality, expressing yourself, or changing your mind.
Feeling safe is not a favour. It is a right.
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Curiosity about yourself is healthy. You are allowed to ask questions such as:
“Are there LGBTQ+ groups near me?”
“How can I learn more about my cultural background?”
“What support is available for identity exploration?”
“Is there someone I can talk this through with?”
Wanting to understand yourself is not something to feel embarrassed about.
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Every local authority must publish a Care Leaver Offer, which explains the support available to care-experienced young people.
Many include identity-related support such as mentoring, wellbeing services, counselling, cultural connection resources, or LGBTQ+-friendly services.
You are allowed to ask a Personal Advisor to help you understand what is included, even if you have moved areas.
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You can ask to be linked with organisations that support identity exploration, such as youth mental health charities, LGBTQ+ youth services, cultural or heritage organisations, mentoring schemes, or peer-support groups.
Examples include The Mix, YoungMinds, Just Like Us, and Mind, alongside local youth hubs, student unions, or community centres.
You do not have to do this alone.
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Your identity belongs to you.
You do not have to share your gender identity, sexuality, cultural background, chosen name, or personal details unless you choose to. You decide who knows what, when, and why.
Privacy is a right, not secrecy.
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Identity and mental health are often closely linked. If exploring who you are brings up stress, anxiety, or emotional difficulty, you can ask for counselling, therapy, or trusted adults to talk to.
You can also request practitioners who are culturally aware or LGBTQ+-affirming.
Your wellbeing matters.
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You have the right to feel safe from discrimination, stereotyping, bullying, or pressure to act a certain way in education, employment, or housing.
If problems arise, you can ask for support, request an advocate, involve a trusted adult, or seek advice from equality or human-rights organisations.
Your identity is protected.
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Some people want to explore life-story work, records, family history, heritage, or cultural background. Others do not.
Both choices are valid.
Support should be available if and when you choose to explore this. -
Identity grows stronger around people who respect you, support you, and allow you to be yourself without explanation or judgement.
Community is not always the one you are born into. Sometimes it is the one you build.
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Identity is not fixed. You are allowed to explore, shift, experiment, update language, change labels, or outgrow old versions of yourself.
Consistency is not owed in a life where stability was not always given.
If you are unsure what you are entitled to
You can ask:
Your PA or support worker
Your local Care Leaver Offer website
Wellbeing services
Youth support charities
You do not need to know everything and you are allowed to ask questions.
Reflective moment
If identity feels complicated, that is okay.
Many care-experienced young people have spent years being defined by systems rather than understood as individuals. You may have been mislabelled, judged, or placed into boxes that made life easier for others.
That does not get to define you now.
Identity is not something you solve all at once. It is something personal, evolving, and deeply yours.
Closing thoughts
Space to explore identity is a right.
Support is a right.
Safe spaces and kind people are rights.
Your past may be part of your story, but your identity belongs to you. You deserve every resource, protection, and opportunity that helps you feel seen, respected, and free to grow.