Foster Care Fortnight starts tomorrow
The City of Edinburgh Council exceeded its foster carer recruitment target last year for the very first time. The positive figures were revealed ahead of the council’s Foster Care Fortnight which has a theme this year of ‘Time to Foster, Time to Care’.
Although the Council successfully recruited 29 carers last year – four ahead of its target – it is actively recruiting again for this year to supplement the 350 foster carers currently providing excellent care.
They are also calling on current foster carers to inspire new carers by taking to social media to let everyone know why they love fostering using the hash tag #lovefostering.
Anna Friel has been a foster carer in Edinburgh for the past nine years. She said: “We have four teenage foster children and I love working with teenagers as you get so much enjoyment from them. It’s the little things that they achieve that make it so rewarding.
“Fostering can be challenging but it’s important to focus on the positives as there are so many. Our children have benefited from fostering too as they have a lot more understanding and have a lot more empathy. I would 100% recommend fostering to anyone who is thinking about it.”
Councillor Paul Godzik, Children, Education and Families Convener, said: “It’s really encouraging that we exceeded our target for recruiting foster carers last year. Despite this positive news there’s still a real shortage of foster carers across Edinburgh and we’re hoping more people will consider becoming carers for children and young people.
“Fostering is a hugely rewarding and really important job as it benefits some of the most vulnerable children in our society, helping them build a bright and confident future.
“All sorts of different people have the skills and qualities to foster and we hope people will use Foster Care Fortnight to find out more about becoming a carer.”
https://youtu.be/gXb0R0ORkv0
To find out more go to the Foster Edinburgh website or contact 0800 174 833 or 0131 529 2773.
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