Essex foster carer urges more people to provide safe and loving homes - as numbers of children in care rise
Stephen and his husband say they've never looked back since starting their fostering journey
Last updated 17th Jan 2024
A foster carer from Essex says once you start your fostering journey - you won't ever look back.
It's as Essex County Council appeal for more people to become foster carers, with children in care in the county on the rise.
In 2022, over 500 children entered care in the county and with concerns the numbers will rise, a need for more foster carers offering safe, loving homes is more important than ever.
Stephen and his husband foster children in North Essex, and say the New Year is a great time to consider fostering.
Stephen told Greatest Hits Radio there's so many children who are in need of a loving home:
"We adopted our little girl several years ago and there was a young person that was in the same foster home with the same foster carers and it was near Christmas time, so I wanted to get them all a little Christmas gift when we took out our daughter home.
"I said to this young boy, what do you want for Christmas? And he said to me, I just want a family.
"And that stayed with me to this day, it stayed with me, and when when we left, I said to my husband, when the time is right, we're absolutely gonna come to foster him.
"For me, looking back on that moment now, you know, no child, that shouldn't be any child's Christmas wish or birthday wish."
Essex County Council says it needs to recruit 60 new foster carers each year for the next 3 years, and says they have remarkable influences on the lives of children and young people who end up in care.
"I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that all of the children are gonna come, are troubled, or they're gonna be hard work"
Addressing some potential concerns among those who are considering becoming foster carers, Stephen says we need to abolish the thought that all children in care could be troubled.
"I think one of the biggest misconceptions is that all of the children are gonna come, are troubled, or they're gonna be hard work.
"And you know what? Of course, that happens because they're children that have come from maybe sometimes some traumatised backgrounds, but it's not always the case.
"Sometimes you have parents that have passed away, parents that become ill, you know, lots of different things, and they haven't got a wider network of a family for children who need to be supported and just because a child may have not have had the right start in life, so to speak, it doesn't mean that child's gonna go on to be troubled.
"What they still need is just a warm, welcoming, loving home that's gonna treat them like their family."
Essex County Council, like most councils across the country, put on events with both council members and foster carers like Stephen, where people can go along and find out more.
Earlier this year, the Council increased carers’ fees by 9% to reflect its dedication to providing the best support for those who foster.
They also offer a full training programme to help support foster carers, and their families.
It's hoped stories from foster carers like Stephen will inspire others in the county to support children and young people who need a home.
"Having children that have never maybe experienced Christmas and seeing their faces the first time they see a Christmas tree and all the presents under the trees, it's just the most incredible feeling.
"But one young person that sticks with me is, they had only been with us a couple of weeks and that was their plan - only to be with us a couple of weeks until they moved on to somewhere more suitable for them - and she said to me, 'Steven, for the first time in many, many years, I feel safe.'
"And again, no child should have to not feel safe and that probably will always stay with me, that in just a short amount of time we made this young person feel safe, welcome and loved.
Stephen and his family have helped their foster children in many ways, including getting one of their children back into school, and then a place in college.
"It's not always full of big changes and massive changes, but when you sit back and you reflect on that young person that arrived a year ago and you look at them to where they are now, you're like, wow, that's a massive change.
More information on fostering in Essex can be found here. Details of Essex County Council's fostering events can be found on their website.