LEICESTER City Council is encouraging people in Leicester to consider becoming foster carers this Foster Care Fortnight.
Foster Care Fortnight is an annual campaign organised by The Fostering Network. It runs until 25 May and is the UK’s largest foster care awareness campaign.
Throughout the next two weeks, the city council will be joining others across the UK to thank foster carers for all they do and raise awareness of the life-changing impact fostering can have.
This year’s theme - The Power of Relationships - highlights the vital connections at the heart of fostering, of which there are many. Foster carers play a crucial role in providing safe, stable, and nurturing homes for children and young people - many of whom have faced difficult or traumatic experiences, helping them to grow in trust and confidence.
Not only do foster carers support the children they care for in their education and physical and emotional wellbeing, but they often support them in maintaining ties to their birth families too.
Sarah Thomas, Chief Executive of The Fostering Network, said: “Strong, supportive relationships are at the heart of fostering. They connect foster carers, children, families, and practitioners, creating a community that surrounds children with the care they need to thrive. But with more children entering care, we urgently need more people to step forward so every child can have the right home for their needs.
“There’s no such thing as a ‘typical’ foster carer. The fostering community is made up of people from all walks of life- regardless of age, gender, relationship status, or sexual orientation. So, if you do one thing this Foster Care Fortnight, take a moment to find out more about fostering.”
Debbie fosters for Leicester City Council and has done so for seventeen years now. She has fostered many children over the years and currently has two young people living with her. Debbie said: “My relationship with the young people that I look after, and particularly the ones I have now, is amazing. We have such a special bond and I'm sure they feel the same.
“I still keep in touch with some of the young people who have lived with me, and the very first foster child I ever looked after came to me a couple of years ago. I hadn't seen him for all this time, and he came back and told me that he was doing a degree in university and it's so nice to know that I was a part of that."
Debbie’s story is just one example of how foster carers promote long-lasting relationships for the children and young people they care for. A short film featuring Debbie and other city foster carers is on the fostering website.
More foster carers like Debbie are urgently needed, nationwide. Across the UK, there is currently a shortage of around 6,000 foster families, leaving too many children without the homes they need. Without local foster carers, children can end up in foster homes outside of their local authority area, far away from everything they know – family, friends, schools and clubs.
Cllr Elaine Pantling, Leicester asst city mayor for children and young people said: “Debbie’s story is a wonderful example of the impact foster carers have on our children and young people. We are so proud of the foster carers we have here in Leicester, and if this is something you have thought about, I would urge you to explore whether fostering may be an option for you and your family.
“One way to do this is to attend one of the information events and drop-in sessions we will be hosting over the next two weeks or so, to give potential new carers the chance to speak to staff and our existing foster carers, and ask any questions they have about fostering.”
Upcoming events include:
- Thursday 22 May: online information session, 18:30 – 19:30
Details of future events and more information about fostering for Leicester City Council are available on the city council’s fostering website. The fostering team can be contacted by calling 0116 454 4500 or emailing fostering.information@leicester.gov.uk.