Foster Care Fortnight – Promoting the great work of foster carers in Sussex
Foster Care Fortnight: 11th-24th May 2020
UK charity The Fostering Network runs Foster Care Fortnight as a yearly campaign to raise awareness of the incredible support work and dedication of foster carers, at the same time highlighting the need for more prospective carers to take their first steps into becoming a foster carer.
At Time Out Fostering, we’re using this opportunity to highlight the great work of our carers, by sharing their fostering stories – from rewards and challenges, through to why they chose to become a foster carer.
Dawn’s story:
Dawn first became a Foster Carer in August 2019, when she took on the role of caring for a 13 year old girl.
Since then, Dawn has loved seeing the girl in her care flourish, and become part of the family alongside Dawn’s own birth children – something that she says happened relatively naturally, thanks to good communication and setting ground rules in place
“I always wanted to work with children and have a childcare background. After having my own children, I wanted a purpose, to help a child that needed a secure home and to be able to use my experience.
“Sometimes you don’t get a lot of time to prepare your family and children as the young person moves in quite quickly, but it never felt awkward and we have family rules in place that are important to try and implement straight away
Dawn, Foster Carer with Time Out Fostering since August 2019
There are many more carers with equally enriching stories and reasons for become a carer, like Kathy.
Kathy’s story:
“We couldn’t have children of our own so decided to look at fostering. We’ve always felt that we have space in our home and our heart to care for children. It’s been a wonderful life experience for us all!
“We have had four placements in total, caring for five children. Two of those children are currently with us now.
“Noticing the difference you are making is so rewarding. It’s also good getting feedback from others on the positive changes they have noticed in the young person.”
It’s also presents so many fun and memorable moments. The current boy we have placed with us comes out with the funniest things when you least expect it. He recently said to a man serving in the shop: “Do you know Captain Underpants?”, to which the man replied that he did… “Good, because you look just like him”.
Kathy, Foster Carer with Time Out Fostering since 2016
We could go on forever about all of the fantastic work our foster carers do, and in fact we will be posting more and more interviews with foster carers as the month’s progress – but we’ll leave you with a few words from Emma, who has been a foster carer with Time Out since 2018.
Emma’s story:
Emma talks about some of the challenges below, including a nice word or two Time Out Fostering and the support we offer all foster carers:
“You need to be able to work with whatever is thrown at you and be able to adapt quickly to any situation. Children who have no stability in their life change very quickly so you need to be flexible in your approach to any given challenge.”
“Time Out helps so much with that. They are always on the other end of the phone. I love how everyone in Time Out knows us and our situation. They recognise my number and answer the phone with “Hi Emma, how are you?” Not “Time Out, can I take a message.
“They know me, what I can and can’t do, I am confident they could speak for me in any given conversation and accurately portray my thoughts and feelings on the matter. You never have to press one for this and two for that, they are people who care for their careers.”
Emma, Foster Carer with Time Out Fostering since 2018
Find out if foster care is right for you
If you’re considering becoming a foster carer then get in touch for friendly informal chat with Time Out Fostering today. We’ll explain the process to you and answer any questions you may have. There’s absolutely no obligation to progress and who knows, it may be the start of something wonderful in your life – making a difference to a child’s life and memories to last a lifetime.
To contact Time Out Fostering simply call 01903 259900, or fill in some details on our this form
You can read the full interviews with Dawn, Kathy and Emma below:
You can also get involved in the discussion around Foster Care Fortnight by using the hashtags #FCF20 and #ThisIsFostering.
Thanks for reading.
