Fostering Stories : Beth

“Fostering for me was an adventure. Like any job it had its ups and its downs. When I say job, I do mean job. A job for me, my brother and sister, not just my mum and dad; we were all involved in various ways. It was just like having an extended family, with extra brothers and sisters, and having mum at home was a fantastic bonus.

Like any family, some days we all got on and other days we would all fall out. But my strongest memories are of the good times. Some mornings we would wake up to find a new face peeking out of the bedroom opposite, and then as we got older we would find empty beds where people had decided to leave in the middle of the night, sometimes with MY clothes and MY CDs!

The hardest part of fostering has got to be when someone you really like or care for leaves. Don’t get me wrong, this wasn’t every placement we had, but I can remember a few in particular that felt like I’d lost someone close. When I was 10 years old we fostered a baby from birth. He stayed with us until he was 18 months old; he was my little brother and we were his family. I think it affected us all when he left. All ended well though and when he moved back to his family we still saw him. This happened with many of the children and young people who stayed with us and mum even still has contact with someone who left us 15 years ago.

If I could go back now and change anything that has happened in my past, I like anyone, would change some things. But being part of a fostering family would definitely not be one of them.”

If you are considering fostering or know someone that is please contact us by calling +44 1702 59 77 97 or sending an email to info@fw-fostering.co.uk