Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Monklands has been so welcoming
Teen has turned his life around
IAN BUNTING
A Coatbridge teenager with a challenging past is using his story to effect positive change in the care system – and has hailed the Monklands community for making him and his brother feel at home.
Ryan McShane and his younger brother, who we are not going to name, found themselves shuttled in and out of emergency care placements and respite homes for years following a difficult upbringing full of what Ryan has labelled “events”.
The 17-year-old has revealed his mum would regularly “go off on one”, which was often exacerbated when arguments erupted and Ryan’s dad would disappear from the family home in Glasgow.
Thankfully, though, Ryan and his sibling have settled into life in Monklands over the past eight years, first living in Airdrie before moving in with foster carers in Whifflet.
Ryan told the Advertiser: “The people of Monklands were very welcoming and we’ve been made to feel like part of the community.
“I was involved in football teams when I was younger, as a goalkeeper, and when I used to work in the Whifflet Arms pub, people who used to coach me would come in and chat to me and ask how we were getting on.
“My brother and I still bicker sometimes but it’s getting better; once we realised we were finally staying together in the one place things became much more stable.
“It really is the best thing for us to be together.”
As children, Ryan and his brother were often separated, sometimes for eight or nine weeks at a time.
But the pair were given a fleeting taste of a stable family life during a placement that lasted eight months.
Ryan said: “I remember it vividly because it was the first placement that felt OK; in other places we would struggle to fit in.
“There was another boy who had been there for years and he was nurtured and loved by the carer.
“He was a role model for us in a way – other guys in our lives, like our cousins, were horrendous people to look up to.”
However, the boys then moved back home with their mum, with the uncertain situation affecting Ryan’s behaviour.
Having been excluded in Primary Six, his school work was months behind his classmates. Before that, at the age of nine, a run- in with police moved the boys away from their mum permanently.
Ryan said: “Mum and dad had an argument and dad went off back to his own house.
“I came back from football and my mum was asleep – there was drugs and alcohol everywhere.
“The place was a mess; no-one was in, the front door was lying open, lights on everywhere, and the microwave had been turned on for 10 minutes and the shower was on.
“I went to the shops with my mum but she couldn’t find bank cards and my brother had wandered out of the shop with stuff in his hands, so the shopkeeper phoned the police.
“It was one big calamity so I ran away again; it was the only thing I could do.
“I had lost all power and knowing there was a way out. I sat on the kerb; the two of them [police officers] had come over and put their arms round us – it was the first time in a long time someone had given us a hug.”
Fortunately, Ryan’s story has taken a significant turn for the better in recent years, with the teenager just completing his time at St Ambrose High School – and term as a MSYP – as he awaits news on conditional offers from colleges.
Ryan said: “The school was very welcoming and I had a great time there.
“I finished my term as a MSYP last week, having been elected in January 2017.
“When I was elected, I got even more respect from my peers and it was a great experience.
“I put my all into the role but there were times, especially when I was busy with school, that it became more challenging.
“But it was very fulfilling, particularly when I was involved in cross-party discussions on childhood experiences in the care system.
“It has given me a taste of politics, which is something I used to watch on the news as a kid and be fascinated by.
“I’ve always been a talkative person and knew politics was for me; it’s right up my street.”
Ryan has also worked with the charity Who Cares? Scotland, which supports and represents young people in care.
As part of pushing for more advocacy for kids in care, and reducing separation between siblings, Ryan was part of a group that met First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
He said: “We handed a report, entitled ‘ You Don’t Have to Wait’, and a letter to Ms Sturgeon and she seemed keen to offer her support.
“The best way we can achieve progress for kids in care is through education; their welfare, safety and comfort are the key factors.”
To find out more about Who Cares? Scotland, visit the charity’s website at www. whocaresscotland.org/