“Our foster child is becoming a smashing little boy. We’ve been able to help him become a young man with a fantastic character who is developing crucial life skills.”
Tyrone and Adam from Calderdale became foster carers in January 2021 and are encouraging others to come forward as part of the Council’s autumn fostering campaign.
Foster carers across the borough are helping children and young people to make new memories. You can too.
The Council is calling for more foster carers following a significant reduction in the number of people coming forward during the pandemic. The latest round of its fostering campaign is underway, with social media posts and advertising around Calderdale encouraging people to ask about fostering.
Foster carers are needed to care for children and young people of all ages, and this could be the perfect way to rethink your career or work-life balance and make a difference to a young person’s life.
Fostering with the Council comes with many benefits and support every step of the way, including generous financial allowances, extensive training and development, one-to-one help, local support groups, a close community of foster carers and free gym and swim membership for all the family in the fostering household.
Cllr Adam Wilkinson, Calderdale Council’s Cabinet Member for Children and Young People’s Services, said:
“Stories like Tyrone and Adam’s show that fostering is an incredibly rewarding experience. Being a foster carer helps to give a child or young person a safe, stable and loving family home, and the care and support they need to learn, grow and build a positive future in their local community.
“Please get in touch with our friendly fostering team to find out more about the rewards of being a foster carer with the Council.”
Visit www.calderdale.gov.uk/v2/residents/health-and-social-care/children-and-family-care/fostering and https://foster4yourcouncil.org/calderdale(external link) or call 01422 266020.
Tyrone and Adam’s story
Tyrone Fletcher and Adam Holmes from Calderdale have been fostering with the Council for 10 months.
They say:
“Fostering allows us to potentially support many children across the course of a lifetime, providing a loving and stable home environment which will hopefully enable them to achieve much more in life than they ever expected.
“The support we have had from not only our social worker, but the whole team of professionals supporting our current foster child, has been fantastic.
“We have attended many training courses to ensure that we’re able and ready to handle any potential challenges that we might face while looking after a child who might have suffered trauma.
“Our foster child is becoming a smashing little boy. Previously he struggled with basic life skills, and we’ve been able to help him become a young man with a fantastic character who is developing crucial skills.
“Anyone considering a role as a foster carer should submit an expression of interest form and have initial conversations with the fostering team. From there we would recommend reaching out to a couple of foster carers within your area to get a real feel for how fostering is different for everyone.”