Gosport same-sex couple urge others to explore fostering during Hampshire County Council's Foster Focus Week

Hampshire County Council’s Foster Focus week, which runs until October 30, is an annual celebration of foster carers, and this year is celebrating inclusivity.

The focus this year is the breaking down of barriers around fostering, such as sexual orientation and relationship statuses of prospective carers.

Roz Chadd, deputy leader of Hampshire County Council and executive lead member for children’s services, said: ‘We are always in need of more people to join our incredible fostering community.’

He added that people interested in fostering should never discount themselves, if they are ‘aged 21 and above, have a spare room and plenty of patience, resilience, open-mindedness and positivity’, then they should get in contact with the foster services to enquire.

Cllr Chadd said: ‘All foster carers receive extensive training and ongoing support, as well as allowances for those they care for.’

Fostering Hampshire Children encourages anyone inspired by fostering to ‘#OpenYourDoor’ for children in need of a home.

Lisa and Charley, a same sex couple from Gosport, started their foster journey in 2014, where they began caring for all ages, both-long and short-term.

They described fostering as ‘a lot of hard work but ultimately, the positives always outweigh the negatives.’

They said: ‘We love the stability that we can provide to a child.’

Orlanda, who has been a single foster parent since 2016, found it challenging on her own ‘but having the support of other foster parents has been invaluable as we all constantly learn from each other.’

She said: ‘Fostering is so rewarding and I know many of the carers have similar experiences and feelings and there are moments, where your heart will just burst with pride for the bravery and successes of the children you look after.’

Ben has also been fostering for over seven years, as well as regularly volunteering with his local church in Basingstoke, and he has fostered 17 children, both long and short term.

He said: ‘We continue to love what we do; every single child brings with them a new experience and new hope for what we can provide for them.’

To find out about upcoming face-to-face or virtual events this week, visit the Fostering Hampshire Children website: https://www.hants.gov.uk/socialcareandhealth/fostering