Anglicare calls for foster carers in Whitehorse

There’s a huge demand for foster carers living in and around Whitehorse after a large number of children were placed in state care during the Christmas period.

Jenika and her daughter Rachel have been welcoming foster children into their Blackburn home for five years. Photo: Stuart Milligan

There is a huge demand for foster carers living in and around Whitehorse after a large number of children were placed in state care during the Christmas period.

Anglicare Victoria is desperately calling for adults over the age of 21 to consider opening their homes to foster children for even as briefly as the odd day or weekend.

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Regional director for Melbourne’s east Darren Youngs said vulnerable children who had been removed from their families were without homes for the start of the school year.

“Last year we placed more than 300 children in foster care, but at present we can’t find homes for all the children who are referred to us,” he said.

Jenika and her daughter Rachel have been welcoming foster children into their Blackburn home for five years. Photo: Stuart Milligan

“We currently have 190 active carer households in the east but we desperately need more.”

Mr Youngs said carers could be anyone who could offer a child a secure, loving home — whether they were single, in a relationship, and with or without their own children.

“Even if carers can only help out for a weekend or the odd day here and there, it really does make a difference.”

He said the children who had been taken out of their homes were starting the school year with new lives and were in need of supportive, stable environments to thrive emotionally and academically.

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Anglicare Victoria’s foster carers have access to 24-hour on-call support, receive ongoing training and are reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses related to care.

Blackburn’s Jenika Graze, her husband and four children have been welcoming foster children into their home for five years. She wrote the following:

“A newspaper article, a friend who was fostering, an AGM where the guest speaker was the CEO of a foster agency, and the realisation that we would always be ‘too busy’ to foster was what we needed to just start fostering. And so our fostering journey began.

My husband and I with our four children Rebekah, Joshua, Sarah and Rachel have been fostering for five years now. We have had emergency. short term and respite placements ranging from 9 months — 16 years of age.

Jenika and her daughter Rachel have been welcoming foster children into their Blackburn home for five years. Photo: Stuart Milligan

“It’s fantastic to see the richness that our foster children have brought into our lives. Whether it be watching our biological children nurture and care for the young foster children (unfortunately drawing the line at changing nappies!) or the older foster children showing interest in our younger children and doing fun activities like cooking with them. Of course there are challenging times with the rewarding times, but the mutual benefits are definitely worth it.

“It was easy to find reasons why not to foster — we were too busy, our home is small, we already have four children and the list went on, however the mutual benefits are worth it. It is a privilege to provide a safe, happy and loving environment for foster children to experience. Even if it is only for a short time, hopefully they will take some of the love and warmth with them through life. If you have ever even fleetingly considered fostering, then go for it. I can guarantee you won’t regret it.”

For more information about becoming a foster carer phone [phone] or email [e-mail] or visit anglicarevic.org.au/foster-caring.