“Give children in care a chance to succeed”

Colette Abbiss, our fostering service manager in the North, writes about the role of respite carers in Liverpool and how you can help support vulnerable children in need.

If the phone rings in the middle of the night, it can mean only one thing. A child somewhere in Liverpool is in need of an urgent foster placement, someone to care for them as their home is not safe or their current foster placement has fallen through. With more than a thousand looked after children placed in the care of Liverpool’s local authority last year, there are carers across the city working tirelessly and selflessly to provide a safe haven for children and young people.

As the fostering service manager at Five Rivers Child Care, I see first-hand how rewarding becoming a foster carer can be, our carers are, at times, the last lifeline for a child or young person in dire need of support during emergencies and often they are the person who finally helps them to turn their lives around.

Thanks to talented carers across Liverpool, Omar*, 10, has stopped looking for trouble in the streets. Instead, he trains with his local football team and dreams of becoming the next Mohammed Salah. Kacey*, 13, experienced her first trip to the beach this summer, visiting New Brighton with her foster family.

People from all walks of life can become foster carers as long as they are over 21 years of age, including single people, cohabiting couples, same-sex couples and people living in rented accommodation.

With an urgent shortfall of 1,240 carers across the North West, it’s a great time to explore fostering. If you could help a vulnerable child achieve their full potential, we’re only a phone call away.

For information on how you can help, please call 0345 266 0272 or email carer.enquiries@five-rivers.org.