Cumbria Fostering’s foster carers are sharing their special ‘fostering moments’ in a new short film and on social media, during Foster Care Fortnight (13 to 26 May).
This year the theme of the fortnight is ‘fostering moments’, which celebrates the moments that define fostering journeys, big and small, and our carers have talked about their special moments in a short film which you can watch on our YouTube Channel.
For foster carer Ian, from Egremont, who (along with wife Alex) has fostered for more than two decades, the special moments sometimes come long after the young person has left their care. He explained: “We are still in touch with one young lady who stayed with us and she is now in the process of starting her own family. It was a really nice moment was when she chose to tell us, as one of the first people, that she was pregnant. That was lovely.”
Our foster carers will also be sharing their special moments on our social media pages throughout Foster Care Fortnight, which is organised by the charity Fostering Network. Deb and Kevin Royston are Cumbria Fostering carers, who are taking part in the campaign. Deb, along with husband Kevin, said: “For us there are so many memorable moments. Such as being handed a two day old baby and thinking ‘can we really do this!?’ Almost four months later we know we can! He’s such a smiling happy little boy and lights up the room when we see him. Knowing we’ve helped him start life so positively despite the uncertainty around him just fills us with love and pride.”
For foster carer Caz Mullen, from Barrow, “getting the big smile and the hug at the end of the day” is just one of the reasons she loves fostering and why she would encourage others, with the space and time for a child, to find out more during Foster Care Fortnight.
As our latest film and campaign shows, foster carers come from all walks of life and bring a wide range of life and work experiences. They receive training and support to help them develop the skills to meet the needs of children in care.
Just as there is diversity in children who are fostered, foster carers need to come from a variety of backgrounds and have different skills and qualities to help meet the needs of children and young people in foster care. There are, however, some common criteria that our fostering services is looking for:
- to be at least 21 years old
- to have a spare bedroom big enough for a young person to live in
- to be a full-time resident in the UK or have leave to remain
- to be able to give the time to care for a child or young person, often on a full-time basis.
Crucially, we will want to know more about you:
- Do you want to work with children and young people who have often had difficult starts in life?
- Do you have the ability to support them, nurture them, communicate with them, advocate on their behalf and include them as part of your family?
- Are you willing to work as part of a team, develop your skills and qualities through training and learning and have the resilience to stay strong in times of difficulty?
- On average in the UK, a child comes into care in need of a foster family every 15 minutes. If you think you may have what it takes to offer them a loving, safe and supportive start in life then we’d love to hear from you.
You can speak to our friendly team and carers at a virtual or face to face information session during the fortnight:
- Wednesday 15 May - Visit our fostering information stand at the Atrium of West Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle from 12pm to 2pm
- Monday 20 May - Join our virtual information event between 6pm and 7pm and watch a short presentation on fostering and speak to our friendly team and carers. To book a place on our event please email claire.crisp@cumberland.gov.uk before 12pm on Friday 17 May
- Friday 24 May - Come along to our fostering information drop-in at Costa Coffee, Elephant Yard, Kendal from 1pm to 2pm
For more information on fostering visit cumbriafostering.org.uk