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Young carer urges others to choose fostering earlier in life

With under 25s in England most vulnerable to unemployment in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, one of our young foster carers, Dion, is calling on other young people to consider fostering as a viable career option offering stability, flexibility and progression opportunities.

After more than seven years of working as a carer and a child minder, Dion decided he would pursue a career in foster care. He said: “Fostering felt like a natural progression. Looking after people is something I have been passionate about since school, and fostering was something I always wanted to do.”

Dion currently has two boys in his full-time care, and is currently going through the process of adopting the eldest, and is applying for the youngest to stay long-term, which means he will stay with Dion until he can live independently as an adult.

Alongside fostering, Dion is also training to be a fitness instructor, something he hopes to complete by the end of the year. Being young himself, Dion finds he has more than enough energy to keep up with the boys, he said: “I’d consider myself a young dad, and that’s definitely one of the benefits of deciding to foster early in life. I still have so much energy to give these kids. It won’t be long before I’m a fully qualified personal trainer too, so I’m hoping I’ll be running laps around them rather than the other way around.”

“I always wanted to help people, and I know that fostering is something I will continue doing for the rest of my life. But it also gives me the financial security and time to pursue another interest of mine which is personal training and fitness.”

Young people make great foster carers, and we are always in need of them, particularly as the coronavirus pandemic hasn’t stopped us from recruiting foster carers. In some areas, we’ve actually seen an increase.

If you’re looking for a career with progression opportunities alongside flexibility, a vocational career, like fostering, could be a great option.

For more information on foster care, contact Five Rivers Child Care on 0345 266 0272 or www.five-rivers.org

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