Monday 19 June 2017
Hello, we’re CFFA’S Foster Carers, we are a fostering family!
Like most people, you’ve probably got a few questions to ask before deciding whether fostering’s right for you.
We are foster carers ourselves, so we really understand how you’re feeling and they are only a phone call away… we had been considering fostering for a few years before we contacted Children First. We felt that we had the love, time, patience and space for this and we both wanted to make a difference no matter how small in a child’s life that had not had the start in life that we had given to our children. We knew that not all children come into care because of neglect, abuse or many other things that a child should not experience and that at times it would be because for a short time a child may need to be accommodated for other reasons, possible illness of a parent, or hospitalised or a prison sentence (there are many reasons for this). However we wanted to in some small way improve a child’s life and to help them come to terms with their past experiences and to give them the love, support and guidance to hopefully have a better future that everyone deserves. We were approved in December 2012. Since fostering we have come across some very challenging behaviour and we have needed support in this from both our network support and the agency, sometimes for advice or just for some reassurance for ourselves, or to blow off steam and with this support and training that is available to us, we have been able to see that we can make the difference, and what would possible not be noticed by someone that doesn’t foster, like a child saying thank you when you give them something can be this difference or just the start of a bigger difference.
The Rewards come when you least expect them when you foster!
A foster carer with Children First, wrote to share her recent contact with a young lady who was placed with her and has since moved on. Our foster carers do such an amazingly difficult ‘job’ and it is wonderful and so rewarding for all of us when things happen as reported to us by one of our Group carers.
Our carer , was almost in tears when talking to Kim Selfe the Carer Recruitment Officer for CFFA, about the contact she had received from a past placement. They had not realised the impact she and her family had made at the time as this was amongst her first placements. It was a joy for Kim to listen to her and this is the sort of feedback we welcome and enjoy hearing. As if the work wasn’t worthwhile enough this gives us all a whole new passion for what we do.
Children First are proud of their fostering families as this provides an example for the level of care and support they provide. Kim was told “I just wanted to share a happy moment with you both, I received a call from SH on Tuesday afternoon, she sounded very happy and she said that she wanted to call and to thank us for what we had done for her, she said that she now understood why we called the police when she came home with drugs and she said that this was the wakeup call that she needed and she totally agreed with what we did. She said that she was now doing her ‘A’ levels and that she got engaged in August and she asked if she could come and see us, which I told her that we would be happy to see her. It was lovely talking to her and she reminded me of a lot of things that I had forgotten and she asked how we put up with her, however she said that she is glad that we did. This is one of those moments that remind us why we are doing it and made us both feel very happy as this was unexpected. I would like to say a big thank you to everyone at the agency and our network support for all their help and support and I look forward to this continuing.”