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After forty-two years I have now retired as a foster-carer for the London Borough of Merton. My official retirement was on 6th June at the Foster-Carers reception when I was presented with an engraved rose bowl and flowers to thank me for my services. Both Ruth and Joseph were able to be there, and it was a lovely evening. Ruth was also given a token of thanks for being my support carer.
It does not seem possible that I have been fostering for so long, or that we have had 133 children through our home over the years.
The role of a foster-carer has changed so much since the 1960s: the support given to carers, and the opportunities for children in the care system are now so much greater. However, the reasons for them being in care have also changed: there are now too many families so dependent on drugs and alcohol that they are unable to give their children the basic needs of family life.
I have loved being a foster-carer and am so pleased that I decided to carry on after John died, as I have had some lovely children placed in the past few years.
The work of a foster-carer is challenging and demanding, yet it is rewarding to see the children blossom such that they are enabled to have a better place in today’s world. A lot of work is done with a child’s family in the hope that the child may be able to return to them, but when this is not possible a permanent home will be sought.
Those of you who have been in church for a number of years will have seen many of the children we have cared for, and all have been made welcome, even if they did show some behavioural problems.
I am very grateful for all the support I have always had from my own family. John and I started to foster even before Ruth and Bethan were born, so for them it has always been a way of life, and they have been happy to have had an older sister or a younger brother as part of their family.
There have been children placed who were very special to us, and I am so lucky that many of their families still keep in touch with me.
What will I do now? Well, I will hopefully have more time for my hobby of handbell-ringing, but as Ruth has had a career change and now does shift-work, I have Bria and Tegan with me more often, so I shall not be left in limbo, and I can find plenty to do with my spare time!
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