October is ‘Sons and Daughter’s Month’, recognising and celebrating the vital contribution of children whose parents foster other children into the family.
For 15-year-old Amelie from Clacton, her mum has been fostering for over five years,
“I've always supported my mum’s dream to foster children. I remember the moment she asked me how I would feel about her fostering; I was 10 years old, and mum picked me up from school, and she was telling me I would have lots of siblings, and I was on board from that moment.”
“One special memory for me was when we went on our first holiday together in Spain, all seven of us. My sisters hadn’t been out of the country before, so giving them that experience was lovely. We taught them how to swim and I felt so happy to see them having so much fun and I was having so much fun with them. We have a lovely bond and have become a great family unit.”
“My sister and I are so proud of our mum, and she always does everything to support us. We’ve had a great upbringing and mum is giving that to other children who haven’t had the same opportunities.”
With over a thousand children currently in care across the county, Essex County Council is urging more people to consider a fostering role either part-time or full-time. Fostering can be very flexible and carers are welcome from any background, including single, married, LGBTQ+ or retired.
Essex County Council offers all foster carers excellent local training with an active network of support groups providing opportunities to meet and learn from other foster carers. It also offers 24/7 local support, a dedicated social worker and access to a clinical psychologist and mental health coordinators.