Foster carer follows in her parents’ footsteps by fostering herself
(Above) Philip, his wife Sheron with their daughter Abbey(19)
A foster carer whose parents were also foster carers is calling for more people in the local area to consider a career as a foster carer to help tackle a nationwide shortage which includes a current shortfall of 600 carers across the South West of England.
Sheron and her husband Philip have been married for 23 years and have one grown-up daughter. They felt they had the time, energy and love to care for more children and began fostering 12 years ago.
When recalling her own parent’s role as foster carers, Sheron said: “It meant I was very aware of what the role of a foster carer demands and luckily Philip was very supportive when I broached the idea of us fostering.”
The youngest child Sheron’s parents fostered was a nine-month old baby called Veronica who was later adopted by the family. Sheron said: “Our family gave her a new start in life and I’m passionate about helping children and young people in the same way.”
Over the last decade, Sheron has looked after around 25 children, some for short periods and others for much longer. Now she concentrates on providing care for families and babies on parent-and-child placement, a specialist type of fostering where a young parent or parents and their child stays with foster carers when they’re in need of extra help and support.
Before becoming a full-time foster carer Sheron was a special police constable and feels her experience of working with vulnerable teenagers laid an excellent foundation for fostering. Sheron also praises the level of support she receives from Five Rivers:
“We began our fostering journey with Five Rivers a decade ago and throughout that time we have worked with the same social worker. Our social worker knows us so well and is always on hand whenever there is a problem, it’s so nice to know there is someone I can turn to immediately for support.”
A career in foster care offers many benefits including competitive rates of pay and flexible working. For more information about fostering contact us on 01722 622492 .