Foster Care Stories
Lindsey’s story
“We just bring them into our family and treat them like one of ours.”
As a foster carer with Team Fostering for 13 years, Lindsey, along with husband Barrie describes herself as an ‘old-timer’. After being made redundant from her role as a team leader in a factory at 52 she decided the time was right and has supported three children during her time here, learning a lot along the way.
Lindsey said: “I always fancied fostering but I’d been in a full time job for 22 years. The day they said we were all being made redundant I thought maybe this is the time to do it. I didn’t want to retire as such but I wanted a bit of freedom to do things during the day.”
Providing a child with a safe home
With husband Barrie fully supportive, the couple went through the assessment process and after being approved as foster carers welcomed a 9-year-old boy into their home on New Year’s Eve.
Lindsey remembers, “He was undernourished, he was tiny. His room had a bunk bed and he was so excited to sleep on the top bunk because he’d only slept on mattresses with his siblings at home. He didn’t even have a winter coat. He didn’t have a lot of things.”
Celebrating the achievements
Over the years, Lindsey’s taken a lot from her time as a foster carer.
She said: “The best part of fostering is watching them achieve things. When they meet the next milestone and you see them thriving. It’s not really a job because they are part of the family. I wanted them to thrive, I wanted them to have bigger and better things.
“We’ve watched our latest young person battle with his dyslexia and get through his exams. We got him through his driving lessons. He’s a lifeguard. He’s at college. He’s now on a staying put placement with us and he’s looking to go to university in September.”
Preparing for the challenges of fostering
Despite the highs, things haven’t always been easy but Lindsey explains what’s helped them through the tougher times.
She said: “If I needed to contact anyone at Team Fostering there’s always someone there. There’s not once someone hasn’t got back to me and we’ve been with them a long time now.
“I’ve also done lots of training with Team Fostering,” she said. “Some of the difficult things you might have to deal with I went online and read about myself and talked to people about it so I was more prepared.”
What you need to be a foster carer
And if she had any advice for someone thinking about becoming a foster carer?
“I’d definitely say you need support, especially from your family”, Lindsey said. “You need empathy and you’ve got to do it for the right reasons.
“You’ve also got to be an advocate for them which I’ve well and truly done for all mine. We’ve fought their corner.”
Lindsey concludes, “We just bring them into our family and treat them like one of ours. But there are difficulties and you have to face them full on.
“There is so much support from Team Fostering there to help you through it.”