Anita and I have been together for 8 years. We live in inner-west Sydney with our fur babies Fonzy and Pablo, and our Subaru Outback.
Did I mention that we’re also foster carers? Just over three months ago, we became a family of five when an amazing eight-year-old boy came into our long-term care. We’ve known Jeremy* for about a year after providing occasional respite care to him and his siblings.
Jeremy is a truly remarkable kid. He’s resilient, caring, smart, funny, talented and a LEGO whiz. He farts a lot too. We’re all adjusting to a new life together and really, we can’t imagine life without him.
We started fostering a year ago with foster care agency, Key Assets. They are very community orientated and have a strong track record for supporting rainbow families, so they really appealed to us.
I worked in community services for about ten years, so I had some understanding about the need for foster carers. I thought about it a fair bit for many years. At some point, I just decided that Anita and I were ready, so we took the plunge together.
We didn’t have many expectations going into it. We assumed it would be quite challenging, but also very rewarding, and it certainly is both of those things. We didn’t expect to be long-term carers so early on and didn’t expect that it would work so well. We are a great fit for each other. We also didn’t expect to receive so much support from our friends and family, our employers, Key Assets and from other carers as well.
Fostering is so rewarding. Sharing a safe, loving and warm environment with a child in need is the best feeling. Watching them grow, develop and thrive, and enjoy enriching experiences is the reward. We’ve learned a lot from Jeremy too. We’ve developed new skills and insights as individuals and as a couple.
There’s a huge need for more foster carers right across Australia. I urge anyone who is considering becoming a foster carer to take the plunge too and contact Key Assets on 1800 WE CARE or visit keyassets.com.au
*Names changed to protect child’s identity.
