37 Children In South Eastern Trust Area In Need Of Home

THE LOCAL health and social services Trust is appealing to people to consider opening their homes to a child in need.

The South Eastern Trust says there are currently 37 children in the area waiting for a foster home. One woman who decided to try fostering said it was the best decision she has ever made.

Sharon Caughers has been a foster carer for five years.

“If you can give even one child or young person some stability in their lives you will really enhance their future opportunities and chances of achieving their full potential,” she said. “Don’t rule yourself out, try fostering, I did and I have never looked back.”

The Trust says it needs a broad range of foster carers to meet the demand of children requiring a foster placement and allow them to be placed with the most suitable carers, limiting disruption and instability in children’s lives.

Foster carers can look after children of all ages, backgrounds and varying needs for anything from a few days to the remainder of their childhood. There is also a need for long term foster carers.

A colouring-in competition for 4-11 year olds has been launched regionally. The competition runs from January 19 to March 9, 2009 with prizes for the best entries within each Trust area. Details are available on the website www.fostering.hscni.net.

“We welcome fostering enquiries from anyone who would like the opportunity to make a real difference to a child’s life, no matter what level of commitment they could offer a child,” said Jillian Dalton, Senior Social Worker, Fostering Recruitment and Assessment Team of the South Eastern Trust.

“We would encourage people to download the colouring-in page from our website and let children unleash their artistic talent – colour it, paint it, glitter it; the possibilities are endless.”

Anyone interested in fostering call the fostering team on Freephone 0500 827 558 or visit the website for more information.

You can visit www.fostering.hscni.net to read the profiles of some children waiting for a foster home along with other foster carers’ experiences.