Lisa* and her partner David* were introduced to the idea of fostering over 18 years ago, when a close friend became a carer. The couple loved the idea of giving back to society, decided to take the plunge in the year 2000 and have been happily fostering ever since.
In 2016, we were honoured to have Lisa join our team and have enjoyed seeing the positive impact she has on the young people in her care, including a sibling group and several parent and child placements.
“I’d like to think that we have made a positive difference to many young people and children’s lives. To say we love fostering, is an understatement, it has become our life”, Lisa shares.
Being a Foster Carer isn’t easy, it requires heaps of empathy, perseverance and patience, but with time, you start to notice progress and that’s an amazing moment. Lisa knows this all too well, she comments, “At times it’s frustrating, occasionally emotional, and always rewarding in some form or another”.
She talks fondly about her experience caring for a sibling group of five, who came into her care in 2004.
“These girls and boys were initially bewildered, frightened and scared, as everything familiar had been torn away from them. Gradually, they learned to trust and care for us, and got used to their new surroundings, boundaries and structure of their new life in our home.”
“In the summer of 2006, we finally learned that our offer of going long term and keeping these children together with us, had got everyone’s approval. We had finally been accepted as their forever family! We were so thrilled”, she continued.
Lisa and her husband do not foster for the recognition, but to give every young person in their care the same stability that they received growing up.
“People often remark that we are doing a job that they could never do. They make us feel like superheroes. But actually, we are just ‘Mr. & Mrs. Average’ doing an extraordinary job, that admittedly not everyone could do.
“We get to work with the most incredible children and young people, who we’ve learnt so much from, and continue to learn from every day. We are fortunate to have an amazingly supportive agency.
“What makes us proud is that sometimes we make a big difference and sometimes a tiny difference, but we continue to make a difference for the better, and that is really important to us.”
It’s estimated that fostering services need to recruit a further 5,900 foster families in the next 12 months in the UK. If you’d like to learn more about the role of a foster carer, then please get in touch with our friendly team – we’d love to hear from you.