Support network

When you go through the assessment process to become a foster carer, the social worker carrying out your assessment will ask about your support network.

Nievely we thought friends we had from childhood would play a big part in our network as we had supported them through their journey to parenthood, unfortunately this was not the case and the people we thought we could rely on walked away from us very quickly. Friends that we had only known a few months very quickly became our network.

This network is extremely important as caring for traumatised children will drain you physically and mentally in ways you could never have imagined. You become their safe place which means you become the person they can take their anger, frustration and hurt out on.

Friends become the break you need the person you trust to talk to and vent at!

Your network allows you to do that which in turn enables you to continue to care for the children who you love deeply and wish you could take their trauma away from them.

Be the friend that turns up at the door with dinner, be the friend that answers the phone when it’s late at night be the friend that is there following difficult meetings or transitions.

Fostering is not easy and carers absolutely need their friends to stand up and be there for them.