Welcome to inclusion bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world where everyone not only belongs, but thrives? You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo, and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.Lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show.

So just your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with inclusion bites. And today is episode 108 with the title from resilience to inspiration. And I have the absolute honour and privilege to welcome Paris Bartholomew. Paris is a speaker, writer, lecturer and trainer. And when I asked Paris to describe her superpower, she said empathy, love, compassion and resilience. Hello, Paris, welcome to the show.

Hello, Joanne. Thank you so much for having me on the show, really, it's such a pleasure to be here.

It's an honour for me. I've read some of the background of the show notes and I'm so looking forward to this conversation. So, yeah, welcome, Paris, from resilience to inspiration. Tell me more about yourself.

Well, I suppose it's worth mentioning that I am a lived, experienced speaker. So what that means is that I spent the majority of my childhood within the british care system. I went into care at the age of six and after multiple placements, we're talking twelve placements over a 1314 year period. I left local authority care at the age of 18 with my own flat, my own independence, my life ahead of me, but maybe not in a very solid place, maybe not in a very comfortable, loving place. And I suppose for me it was about building identity, building resilience, learning how to interact with people and building trust with other humans. Things that I think a lot of people develop from a very young age. But just due to the many moves that I had during my childhood, it just made for a very unstable, traumatic time growing up.

I'm just doing the maths here. So, six to 1812 placements, you're effectively moving every year.

Yeah, there were some placements that were three to six months long and there were others that were just over a year. My longest placement was just under two years and that was a large group home in onestead in east London. But the majority of my time, as you say, was very much, very short periods of time in foster families, group homes, independent living projects, you name it.

I've stayed in hotels longer than some of those placements. It's bad enough moving home where you have to pack and unpack and become familiar with not only where you're living, but the surroundings, the people around you. It really is destabilising, isn't it, that kind of nomadic lifestyle?

Absolutely. Very unstable. And I suppose when you're thinking about your childhood years and the things that you need to navigate naturally, like learning how to trust, learning how to build bonds and learning how to give and receive love, these are just things that I unfortunately was never able to develop over the years as a child. So it was about navigating some of that as an adult.

Can I ask how you entered the care system in the first place at the age of six? How did that come about?