The barber, the checkout assistant, the banker and the marine
I’ve always politely interjected with the standard hairdresser chat, “where do you work? Busy day? Going/been anywhere nice on your holidays?”. In October last year, my usual barber was on holiday so his cousin cut my hair. I obliged with the standard chat, “I work for a fostering charity…”, to which he replied, ”Ah fostering, I know all about that”.
I almost had a bald patch!
I was surprised to say the least. Lucky to avoid a bald patch given my reaction! What followed was a conversation about his experience of foster care, substantiated by his discussions cutting the hair of a foster carer for a number of years. The foster carer was formerly a commissioner in the police. He and his wife fostered a baby into adulthood. My barber saw the child grow up, and witnessed the difference a stable and loving family made to the child’s life. “Incredible…amazing commitment” he said.
Adoption too often takes the headlines, despite fostering being the right option for around 80 per cent of looked after children. Yet as my barber shows, lots of people from a diverse range of backgrounds in our communities are aware of fostering. This started the ball rolling for this year’s Fostering, make a connection theme for Foster Care Fortnight™.
For foster carers, social workers and care leavers, the connection to fostering is clear. But who else forms the team around the child? Doctors, teachers, youth workers may have a connection to fostering, as might celebrities and politicians. Foster Care Fortnight could also be an opportunity for local businesses to make their connection to fostering in their local community and show their support for children in foster care. Since my conversation with the barber, I’ve chatted to a checkout assistant, a banker and a former marine who all have a connection to fostering. Each time I’m more pleasantly surprised than the last.
The recruitment challenge
Recruiting and retaining the right foster carers is a challenge facing all fostering services – 8,370 are needed in 2015 alone, primarily to care for teenagers and sibling groups. The Fostering Network’s Foster Care Fortnight represents an opportunity to raise awareness and celebrate the positives of foster care locally and nationally, to encourage more people to start their fostering journey or lend their support. Help by showing them how and make your connection to fostering this Foster Care Fortnight.
