Foster Care Victoria

This reflection was contributed by a carer from Melbourne’s eastern region who attended the recent Foster Care Conference.

“Maybe…

I looked around the auditorium to view the volunteers. Over 300 men and women chatting, sharing stories, city and country faces, some nursing babies.

There’s something else about them. Their age. The youngest must be fifty, and many much older. Talking of their child’s progress, sharing tips about health care, school stuff, tackling tricky behaviour. No,  it’s not their grandkids they speak of but their foster cildren…

I wonder who will do this caring when they are retired and gone.
Who will give a child a chance to be relieved of a stressful situation? Who will advocate for their best interest?

Maybe…
We could let younger people look after these special kids?
We could welcome sole parents, single people, people with their own kids and same sex couples couldn’t we?
You know what? We already do.