Best friends who found each other through fostering help council recruit new foster carers
Two foster carers from Runcorn are planning to use their 15 years of experience of fostering to encourage others to come forward and consider it.
Between them, Angela and Sharon have looked after more than 35 vulnerable babies, children and teenagers. Shortly after Angela was approved as a foster carer, Sharon started her fostering journey too, and they have been inseparable since.
Angela says “We both support each other, we really are a family. It’s not just us, a lot of our foster families go out of the way to help one another, it will be things like lifts, shopping and homework- the usual everyday family responsibilities”.
Angela and Sharon have utilised every opportunity to train and develop with Halton’s fostering service, and in 2018 they each completed 18 free training courses, everything from safeguarding to safer sleep. Their next venture is to help the council find more people who want to become a foster carer in Halton.
Fostering Principal Manager, Gareth Walton, said: “We’re thrilled to involve some of our foster carers in recruitment, it means that people at the start of their journey can benefit from authentic, genuine advice straight from the source, and it also means that we can give our foster carers an opportunity to broaden their skillset even further.”
Angela and Sharon have organised a pop-up recruitment event at Macy’s Café at Grangeway Community Centre in Runcorn (WA7 5HA), 7 February, 10am-2pm.
Here, people who want to find out more about becoming a foster carer can chat to Angela and Sharon and talk all things fostering, no need to book, just turn up.
Halton’s Executive Board member for Children, Young People and Families, Cllr Tom McInerney, said: “In Halton, there are over 280 children in care and we know that placing with our own foster carers provides better stability and outcomes for those children.
“We want to make sure that children have the option stay at their school and remain in the local community- increasing the number of in house foster carers we have will help us to achieve that”
In addition to pop-up events, formal Information Sessions take place each month in Halton, Warrington, Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester.
At formal Information Sessions prospective foster carers can listen to a presentation, chat with experienced foster carers and ask any questions they may have, before taking the next steps (if they are ready to).
To find an upcoming Information Session please visit www.foster4.co.uk/events or call 0800 195 3175 to speak to the fostering team.