I had always wanted to be a mother. Sadly though, that wasn’t to be. I am a divorcee and although I had accepted that I was not going to be a biological mum, my desire to have children in my life remained strong, and fostering children was the route that I decided to...
I had always wanted to be a mother. Sadly though, that wasn’t to be. I am a divorcee and although I had accepted that I was not going to be a biological mum, my desire to have children in my life remained strong, and fostering children was the route that I decided to pursue. I joined to The Moon...
It’s been a year of reflection too. The pandemic has impacted on our whole society and foster care...
I recall the weekend my twins left home to go to university. I took one on the Saturday and the...
Most children in foster care will have likely experienced a feeling of loss or a sense of...
Ikigai is a Japanese concept that means “a reason for being” and refers to having a meaningful direction or purpose in life.
During 2020 many people have reflected on what is most important in their life. The Covid-19 pandemic has forced us to live differently. It has separated us from those we love and pushed us in to periods of isolation, where even a hug isn’t allowed. We’ll never take our freedom for granted again but for many of us, we’ve realised that we’re happy with some of the changes that we were forced to make and that we are now capable of much more than we thought we were at the beginning of 2020.
2020 has been a rollercoaster year for everyone. There have been some unexpected twists and turns but reflecting on the year there have been some remarkable collaboration and achievements despite what Covid 19 threw at us all. We have been blown away by our very own heroes.
During the Covid-19 lockdown, according to Barnardo’s, we saw, nationwide, a 44% increase in the number of children requiring foster care. The increased pressure on families, because of job losses, worsening mental health and deepening poverty, has resulted in more children facing neglect and abuse. A predicted second wave of Covid-19 sees further increases expected in the numbers of children who will come in to care through no fault of their own. Many people have considering fostering as a potential career change. Allowances paid to foster carers combined with tax benefits are enabling people who have lost their job as a result of the economic downturn, to feel, that by fostering, they could replace their lost earnings. Enquiries have been received, about fostering, from people who have reassessed their lives through lockdown, and realised what they value in life and as a result are now seeing fostering as something worthwhile that can work with their new way of living, or simply as a way to give something back.
