The route to becoming a foster carer is inevitably a variable one and will alter from person to person, from family to family. For some, it’s to give back to society and sometimes this is related to early life experiences, perhaps even of being looked after in the care system. For others, it’s an option that suits a particular life stage…children at home, children left home, retirement…there is no such thing as an atypical foster carer and no one thing that motivates the path to becoming one.
One of our foster carers had wanted to foster for a long time and caught up in raising a family and house renovations, just hadn’t taken the action to make it happen. In discussion, she reflects upon the overwhelming compulsion that led her to finally apply. At the time, her routine was settled in caring for her children, taking care of their home, being a wife and well….lunching and going to the gym. As she stated, at the point of revelation: “There’s only so many times you can go to the gym and go to lunch!”.
At first glance, this may appear flippant but it signified something much deeper for this foster carer. She had experienced early life losses of significant people and had spent time reflecting upon what SHE would like to be remembered for. She recognised that she had more to give and set about exercising what was in her heart. Of course, the assessment process to becoming a foster carer is in-depth and those early life losses and how she’d coped would have been explored. No doubt, it encouraged her onwards in her journey…she was determined that should she be ‘taken’ young, she would have given something of herself that was invaluable to others.
A year on, she is doing just that. This family is now home to two children who really, really needed someone to make that decision to offer something that will be remembered. Perhaps a person who has experienced significant loss can – more than most – understand the value of a welcoming, nurturing home. Perhaps if we all were to tune into our own sense of purpose, we could carve out our path too…..perhaps it could lead to fostering for Chrysalis Care? Visit us to find out more about applying to become a foster carer.