After a conversation with a colleague who fosters, Sean couldn’t stop thinking about the number of young people looking for care and the trauma they experience when bounced from home to home.
It was enough to make Sean reach out to Uniting and start the process to become a foster carer himself. Once accredited, Sean had a young person come into his care.
Having now been a foster carer for 10 years, Sean shared his story in the hope of inspiring others to consider opening their home to children and young people in need.
“My favourite thing about being a foster carer is having young people around and knowing I’m doing something for them.”
“I’m providing a caring environment for a young person to live in. They can live their own lives, not looking over their shoulder.”
Space to be themselves
The young person who came into Sean’s care had moved through a number of different foster homes. This meant he was unable to establish strong friendships. Moving into a long-term placement with Sean allowed the young person to make friends and feel like a regular teenager.
“The moment I knew it was worth it was when he asked me to bring some friends over to our house. He had made connections and friendships at school.”
Another special moment was hearing laughter in the house.
“When I heard him laugh! When I heard him laugh for the first time… it gave me the warm and fuzzies.”
Mythbusting
Sean shared that some of the myths about foster carers are quite different from the reality.
“I’m single, haven’t been married, I live on my own and I’m a foster carer.”
“And you don’t have to have a big house. You just need space for the young person, at least one room, enough space for them to thrive, be comfortable and have good meals. You can have a big mansion or a small unit, as long as it’s safe that’s all a young person needs.”
Another myth Sean spoke about was around having a full-time job while being a foster carer.
“I work full time. With the support I get from Uniting, I can have respite carers and others to give me a hand when I need it.”
Have a go
“Being a foster carer has given me purpose.”
“I would tell someone who’s thinking of becoming a foster carer to have a go. Do the interview, do the training and if it’s still for you, go for it.”
