Fostering Hampshire Children is celebrating its inspiring foster carers and calling for more people to consider changing the life of a child in need, during its annual Foster Focus Week (24-30 October).
Hampshire County Council’s regional celebration will provide an opportunity for Hampshire residents to find out more about fostering at a series of in-person and virtual information events running throughout the week. This year’s campaign particularly seeks to break down perceived barriers surrounding who can foster.
In this article, Ben and his partner Kelly, one of our Fostering Hampshire Children foster carers shares their experiences of being a foster carer and how their faith has inspired them to care for Hampshire’s most vulnerable children.
We became foster carers in 2014, at this time we would not have described ourselves as Christian’s bur certainly would describe ourselves as searching. Faith was easy for us back then; it simply didn’t register with us.
We began our skills to foster training and met another couple who were known to my partner Kelly through work. Kelly had no idea they were to become foster carers and that was mirrored about us. We spent a lot of time with this family who were Church going Christians and eventually we accepted an invitation to join them at a Church called Gateway (now Mosaic Church) to “give it a try”.
To fast forward a year later we were all approved and had been regular attendees at Gateway Church for some time. We had found what we had been searching for, that something was Jesus.
So, what support has the Church lent to me and my family? Well, all Christians believe that they are adopted into the family of God. The book of stories we call the Bible is full of Gods word encouraging us to “hear the cry of orphans and widows” or “enlarge our tents” to welcome vulnerable children into our home. I believe that Jesus himself had a particular love for children, especially those who were oppressed – now we might call this abused or neglected. Fostering and adoption is mentioned in one of the first books of the bible. A child named Moses became the first fostered and subsequently adopted person mentioned and became pretty significant in the Bible story.
My Church, Mosaic Basingstoke, looks after our needs and has taken time to educate its attendees in trauma so our looked after kids are understood and loved. On receiving new children, we have the whole Church to support us through what ever it is we need. Our leadership team love the work we do and fully support it both spiritually through prayer and offering meal trains to lighten our load at the beginning of a new child joining us or during a period of stress on the home. Recently we had bags of toys left on our doorstep to help settle in a young child.
For a Christian, communication with God through prayer is maybe our greatest gift. If you leave aside the word “prayer” you might call it “mediation or mindfulness”. We have found many other foster carers locally and in Hampshire are also Christian and we have found great comfort and provision in us praying with them and for them.
Ben is a Home for Good Champion which means that he volunteers for a Christian organisation that seeks to promote fostering (and adoption) within Churches. This has led to our own Church and its sister Churches raising 3 fostering families and 2 adoptive families, whilst at the same time providing the basic training and tools to become a trauma informed – fostering friendly Church that can welcome children.
We have led other Christians through the application process and helped them recognise that their faith is not an obstacle to looking after Hampshire’s children. We have helped them find the words to describe prayer, gifting, healing, prophetic words or tongues to their assessing social workers in a way that can be understood. We have demonstrated in practice and in theory how a Christian home can welcome children of other faiths, LGBTQ+ children, atheists and agnostics. We have spent time talking with birth parents about how our faith doesn’t pose a threat to their children whilst they live with us.
Jesus when asked what “was the most important rule to follow” responded by saying “love”. That’s what all foster carers do in spades. We love our children unconditionally and change our lives to meet with theirs
Grace and peace
Almost anyone can foster regardless of where they live in Hampshire. As long as you over 21, have a spare room, a tiny bit of care experience you can foster. Regardless of ethnicity, sexual orientation, relationship and faith – you are eligible to join Fostering Hampshire Children.
Fostering Hampshire Children are proud to be working in partnership with Home For Good – a faith-based charity who inspire individuals, churches and the faith community to play their part in supporting vulnerable children through church engagement at local, regional and national levels, taking every opportunity to motivate the Church to respond.
Home for Good have met hundreds of Christian foster carers from all over the UK. For many of them, their faith was seen as an asset in assessment, not least because for many, a church community offers a robust network of support.
Social workers will want to explore the role faith and the church community has in your life and how that will impact any child who comes into your family.
The team at Home For Good are available to offer support and faith-based advice to those beginning their foster care journey as well as current foster carers with Fostering Hampshire Children. There are Home For Good Champions in the Hampshire area and additional peer to peer support for persons of faith.
Please contact the Home For Good team on 0300 001 0995 for support and advice today.
For those interested in fostering with the County Council, the Fostering Hampshire Children website provides a wealth of resources, information and details of events. Hampshire residents are also encouraged to come along to one of the following events throughout Foster Focus Week to find out more:
- Sunday 23 October –Blue Light Day at Beaulieu (Waiting on complete confirmation)
- Monday 24 October – Marwell (Waiting on complete confirmation)
- Tuesday 25 October – Meet the Chamber Business Exhibition (Basingstoke)
- Wednesday 26 October – Paultons Park
- Thursday 27 October – Winchester Science Centre
- Friday 28 October – Watercress Line
We also have three virtual events this week too – with opportunities to chat with our knowledgeable recruitment team and our inspirational foster carers. Find out more about these events.
You can also sign up for our Fostering Hampshire Children newsletter too and stay up to date about all the fostering news and developments from your local authority.