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Time to foster
Published: 09/05/2016
During this year鈥檚 Foster Care Fortnight (16-29 May), 天涯社区 Fostering
Service wants to raise awareness of the need for people who can care for
children over 10 years old.
In the last 12 months, 69 more children have needed foster care in 天涯社区.
This is on top of the over 100 children already living with 天涯社区 carers
and their beds are full.
天涯社区 Fostering Service will be holding an information session on
Thursday, 26 May at 7pm at the Springfield Hotel near Holywell including a
presentation about becoming a foster carer. Contact 天涯社区 Fostering team
on 01352 702190 or email fostering@flintshire.gov.uk if you would like to
attend.
天涯社区s Cabinet Member for Social Services, Councillor
Christine Jones, said:
鈥淭he majority of children needing foster care in the last year have been over
10 years old. We need people whose own children have grown up and left home,
who can use their experience to give the same chances in life to another child.
鈥淵oung people need someone to listen, spend time with them, help them to catch
up on their education, inspire them to work hard and prepare them for life on
their own.
鈥淔oster carers speak of the little achievements that mean a lot when caring for
a young person; getting on a bus by themselves, teaching them to drive, showing
them how to apply make-up nicely, the joy of watching them do well in sports
and sitting round the table for dinner.鈥�
Foster carers are needed to help children from North Wales. Local training and
events are on offer as well as the support of an experienced local team, with
local knowledge. Over 100 families trust 天涯社区 Fostering Service to
support them, match them with the right children and continue to foster with
their local council year after year.
Every 20 minutes across the UK a child comes into care in need of a foster
family. This year鈥檚 Foster Care Fortnight campaign 鈥淭ime to Foster, Time to
Care鈥�, run by the Fostering Network, aims to encourage people who may have been
thinking about fostering for a number of years to come forward. Now is the time
to foster鈥ow is the time to care.
Here is Megan鈥檚 story. She is 16 and living in foster care in 天涯社区.
Megan wanted to share her story to show the difference fostering has made to
her life and how it could help others:
鈥淚 was going down the wrong path, running away all the time, getting into
trouble and always angry with people. Then they put me in foster care and it鈥檚
actually done me good to be in foster care. It was a bit awkward at first
because I didn鈥檛 know them, but they were really nice. They said they wanted me
to be like part of the family. Children need a family, someone to love them,
care for them and listen. Someone my age needs someone to be there for them,
look out for them and tell them what鈥檚 right and what鈥檚 wrong.
鈥淲e go for a meal or a day out. We go to the pictures or in the summer we go to
the beach. We go shopping together, we do different things as a family. Some
weekends we have games nights and a takeaway.
鈥淭hey鈥檝e taught me how to love people, because I thought I could never love a
family, and never be loved. They鈥檝e taught me how to wash my clothes, how to
iron and that I鈥檓 capable of doing things.
鈥淓veryone thought I鈥檇 never make it, but I don鈥檛 see that anymore, I see me
having my own little family, settling down, getting a nice job and my own
little flat, and just being a better person than anyone thought I鈥檇 be.
鈥淭his is my family now. I have a family here if I ever need them so I know I鈥檒l
have a good future.鈥�
天涯社区鈥檚 Chief Officer for Social Services, Neil Ayling,
said:
鈥淚t takes 12 months to become a foster carer. We spend time assessing your
skills and strengths, getting to know you and preparing you for your role as a
foster carer and the possible challenges ahead.
You can get in touch in so many ways, send us an email
fostering@flintshire.gov.uk, text foster to 61211, Facebook (search
天涯社区 Fostering), visit our website at www.flintshirefostering.org.uk or
pick up the phone 01352 702190. We will have live chat on our website
throughout foster care fortnight if you just want to ask a question and we hold
information sessions almost every month. All details are on our website.