Michelle and her husband Rob are proud foster carers to Hannah, a finalist in the Voices 2022 creative writing competition. After the 2025 winners were announced last month, they share their joy in Hannah’s achievements and highlight why other foster carers should encourage the children and young people in their care to take part in the competition.
Over the past 25 years, foster carers Michelle and Rob have opened their hearts and homes to over 30 children and young people, providing them with the stability and care they need.
Fostering was something that Michelle always felt drawn to, as she explains: “I’d had some difficult experiences in my own childhood which ignited something in me to want to help children. I’d never understood why there is often a stigma around children who are in care – these are children experiencing such difficult issues through no fault of their own.”
She continues: “I knew there was a desperate need for more foster carers and my three children were all grown up and had left the nest so it felt like the right time.”
Hannah first came to live with Michelle and Rob when she was almost four years old. Then, after multiple moves, she moved back in with them permanently when she was eight. Michelle and Rob have been a constant in Hannah’s life over the last ten years, and are now supporting her as she prepares to take steps towards independence.
Hannah’s achievements have been a source of great pride for Michelle and Rob, and one of the most significant of these was when she was named a finalist in Voices 2022, a creative writing competition for care-experienced children and young people, hosted by the charity Coram Voice. Hannah had become aware of the competition through her school and been supported by her Personal Advisor to submit her poem and create a video to go alongside it.
Michelle remembers reading the poem for the first time: “Seeing what she had written – and watching the video too – took my breath away. Knowing it was about us was very moving. It was hard to hear it and not cry. It was amazing for Hannah to be recognised in a national competition, and for her to be celebrated.”
Being shortlisted in the competition opened up a lot of other opportunities for Hannah, building her skills and confidence. This includes being invited to read her poem at events for her local authority and fostering agency, returning as a young judge to support judging of entries for the Voices 2024 competition, and even having the opportunity to meet Her Majesty The Queen for a royal visit at Coram in 2023.
Michelle says: “Hannah’s poem has been so well-received and celebrated. A lot of other young people in care can relate to what she says. And when she read it out to social workers and staff at a local authority event, she received a huge round of applause and flowers, and one of the leaders said ‘this is why we do what we do’.”
Michelle recalls that the experience of meeting The Queen together was a very special moment for them both. She says: “I’m delighted that Hannah has had these opportunities and that I’ve been able to share it with her. It’s been wonderful to see that she can do something quite special, something that will be rewarded with interest and congratulations. It hasn’t cost anything but has given her the gift of pride and confidence.”
Michelle hopes to inspire other foster carers to encourage the children and young people in their care to take part in future Voices competitions, and helps to spread the word in her fostering support groups.
"It’s a great way for young people to express themselves," she says. “Not everyone understands the experience of being in care and the competition helps young people to see that they are not alone and to have their feelings heard, acknowledged and understood. We need to build awareness of the competition, and support our young people to write if they’d like to.”
Hannah will soon be moving into a supported living arrangement, marking the beginning of a new chapter in both of their lives. Though Michelle says that they are both “scared and excited”, she knows that this transition is a necessary step for Hannah’s independence.
"There will definitely be tears shed but we will be staying in touch, and this is a new beginning for her.”
All names changed to protect anonymity.
