As part of ‘Fostering Fortnight’, Southwark Council is encouraging people to apply to become foster parents and the News spoke to one carer about her experiences.
Bryleigh, 24, from Greenwich, has been a foster carer for two years and currently looks after two teenage girls.
At 24, she is one of the younger foster carers working with Southwark Council. She loves doing it so much that she thinks she and her partner, Grace, 26, will “do it forever”.
A social media marketing business owner, Bryleigh said: “I absolutely would recommend it. If you’re the right person, caring for someone else is just life-changing. I’ll do it forever.”
Asked what it’s like being a foster carer at 24, she said: “My family would always say I’m not a typical 24-year-old. I’m more like a 60-year-old!
“Going out isn’t my scene. I was a bit worried that my age would play into it and people might not take me seriously but I really haven’t experienced that and the borough takes my views on board.”
She said her age was an advantage as it could make it easier to communicate with the young people in her care: “I think they talk to me more about things like boyfriend and girlfriends which they might not tell older people because they might not understand.
“I’m not frightened away by things they say or their reactions.”
Bryleigh’s mum started fostering children when Bryleigh was fifteen, and soon she and her sister were sharing their lives with boys brought into the family’s care.
Bryleigh said: “We had to get used to the rough and tumble! But as kids, we never felt like we had to share our mum. We just got on with it and thought this is another person to play and be friends with.”
Your life will be enriched: foster carers share their experiences to encourage others
Now with her own teenagers to look after, Bryleigh has loved watching them grow and develop. She said: “One of our young people didn’t attend school for a very long time and was getting moved because of behaviour problems.
“Now we’ve got her into school and she’s getting good grades and making good progress. She loves school now and has a really good group of friends.”
“She has completely integrated. She is like a daughter to us.”
As part of ‘Fostering Fortnight’, the council is encouraging people to become foster carers, as there currently aren’t enough for the number of children in Southwark’s care.
They have been holding information sessions. The next one is being held online through Teams on Wedneday May 25 at 6.30pm.
Foster carers, who get a monetary allowance from the council, can be any age over 21, of any religion, gender, or sexual orientation, and must be a legal tenant with a spare room.
Southwark particularly wants to meet potential foster carers living in the borough as this helps local children maintain important relationships with their families and friends, and stay at the same school.
In February, the council announced it will set up three new children’s care homes to stop youngsters being sent to the north of England.
To find out more about becoming a foster parent visit: https://www.southwark.gov.uk/childcare-and-parenting/fostering