Lucy Stevens - 28th April 2018
I’m Julie. I’m mum to Mel, Beth and Mitch and foster with my husband Martin in Essex. Before fostering, and in addition to bringing up our children, I worked in the caring profession.
I think fostering was a natural choice for me. I’ve brought my own kids up and they’re mostly independent. We’ve now got the space and the energy and passion to foster. Fostering has been a life-long wish of mine. I have loved being a parent and our kids have had a caring and nurturing family to grow up in; we just wanted to offer that to children who are less fortunate.
We’ve been fostering with Eastern Fostering Services since the end of 2017. Of course our lives have changed since starting to foster; we’ve had to adapt. We’ve had to restructure our time and routines now that we have an 11-year old in the family. We’ve enjoyed the training which has given us confidence and helped us to develop new strategies to use alongside old ones that we used with our kids.
Before fostering, I don’t think we’d appreciated how firm the structure and accountability would be but I can honestly say that we are finding it so fulfilling. Life has got busier but it has also got so much fuller.
Despite being new to fostering, we have already been able to see our child’s confidence grow. The changes, challenges and new responsibilities are rewarded with each little triumph, each understanding reached and each hurdle jumped for that child. You know you are making a difference to a young life and helping them have the best tools for adulthood.
What advice would I give to people who have thought about fostering? JUST DO IT!!!!
If you want to find out more about fostering, visit us at www.easternfosteringservices.com or come along to one of our events in Essex, Suffolk or Cambridgeshire.
Eastern Fostering Services - The small agency with a strong family feel
