Peer Action Collective (PAC) Cymru recently hosted a Trusted Adult Walk to share findings from their research. The Trusted Adult Walk was an interactive data showcase featuring the experiences of children and young people who had participated in PAC Cymru’s research interviews earlier this year.
The walk posed the question:
“Is there a difference in having a trusted adult in your life and not having one? What’s the difference?“
Participants had the opportunity to walk through two parallel installations, one which represented the experience of a child who did have a trusted adult in their life and one which represented the experience of a child who did not. The two walks demonstrated how, with support from a trusted adult, a child is able to overcome challenges in life whereas those without trusted adults had many barriers in life that they had to overcome without support, by themselves.
“The Trusted Adult Walk was a small snippet of what our 2025 exhibition will be like, featuring stories from young people we have worked with, our research findings, themes, and tasks based on our research questions.”
Steph McArdle, PAC Cymru Project Coordinator
The walk was intended to start conversations on trusted adults, and barriers for young people when they engage with a trusted adult. The walk included videos, diary entries and letters from young people so participants could hear and read stories of young people who have had support and those who have never had support.
“A really creative piece that received lots of praise were the diary entries (negative side) and letters (positive side). As these were very traumatic events which have been taken from interviews with youth, it helped showcase how difficult life is without the support of a trusted adult. The letters ensured that we could put ourselves in the shoes of struggling youth, helped us emphasize, and truly understand the stark difference between having support and not having someone who is trusted to turn to. The letters were impactful and eye-opening.”
Peer Researcher
“I have really enjoyed being able to help create this, so that people can come and watch how we display our work and show them ideas we have for the future for young people.”
Peer Researcher
The walk was followed by a round table discussion led by peer researchers reflecting on the installation and identifying the barriers young people have in accessing trusted adults such as unequal power dynamics, inaccessibility, young people not having awareness and knowledge of how to access trusted adults.
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