Couple became foster carers during pandemic
A couple from Swansea who decided to become a foster family during the Covid pandemic say it has been one of the most rewarding things they have done.
Changing work patterns and more time at home meant Clare and Gareth Pritchard decided the time was right to play their part in helping to give children in the city a better future.
This week sees the start of Foster Care Fortnight (May 9 to 22) and Swansea Council is using the national campaign to recognise the commitment, passion and dedication of foster carers and to highlight the need for more dedicated foster carers.
According to Foster Wales, over 350 families in Wales started fostering with their local authority during the Covid-19 pandemic.
They included Clare and Gareth who become foster carers with Foster Wales Swansea in July 2021.
Clare said: "Gareth works in his local community and during Covid, we discussed the challenges that children in our community faced. It opened the conversation about fostering and as time went by those conversations increased. Our older children had flown the nest so we had a spare bedroom.
"We decided to contact Swansea Council to find out more information. We attended their virtual information event and you could say the rest is history."
"Undoubtedly, there are people who would have been daunted by the prospect of everything being virtual. With home visits a no-no, the whole assessment had to be completed via Microsoft Teams, something that's become all too familiar for many."
But this didn't put Clare and Gareth off their desire to become foster carers.
"Like most people we found our work moved online during Covid so it was fine being assessed this way. If anything it made us more relaxed as we were in our own surroundings and found it easy to fit around work and the family," Clare added.
Support for foster carers, and their families, is crucial but with all the restrictions and limitations at the time, there was the worry that people would feel isolated and unsupported. But this isn't something that Clare and Gareth felt during their assessment.
"It is very important to get support from your friends and family when you're foster carers. There are many ups and downs during the foster journey. When we, experienced challenges, we have found our social worker and the extended teams to be so supporting. It's very important to communicate what you need and the support will be given."
Clare and Gareth currently have a young boy placed with them and say they have already experienced many rewards of fostering.
"There are so many rewards when fostering, these can be found in the small day-to-day things that we can all take for granted. From watching a child learn to let their guard down and trust adults, to seeing them excited when you stand on the side-lines of their rugby match.
"In our communities there are many children in need of support. When you open your home to give them a safe environment to thrive you also teach them positive relationships. You're not only helping this child now but you're causing a ripple effect into their future.
"What you do to support this child now will affect all their relationships they have in the future from their partner, to children, to relationships, at work and in the community.
"We decided as a family to open our home to support a child and it's been challenging but one of the best things we have done."
Swansea Council's Leader Rob Stewart said: "The last two years have certainly been challenging but we've seen such compassion and selflessness from our foster carers, who have opened their doors to children and given them a safe place during the Covid pandemic when the rest of the country were struggling to even see their own families.
"Fostering has had to adapt to the strange circumstances we all found ourselves in and our foster carers really stepped up to provide outstanding care and support for children and families who needed them, and we want to say a big thank you and convey our appreciation for everything they've done."
Swansea Council is one of 22 local authority teams in Wales, working together as Foster Wales, a national network of not-for-profit fostering services.
Foster Wales wants to encourage more people to become foster carers for their local authority so that children can remain in their local area, close to their friends and family and remain in their school. This can help children and young people retain their sense of identity during an otherwise turbulent time.
Alastair Cope, Head of Foster Wales, the national network of local authority fostering services said: "Most people don't realise that it's your local authority, your local council, who take care of children when their family are experiencing difficulties or when children are living with abusive and neglectful situations, and it's your local authority who finds them a safe place and is responsible for them.
"There is a wealth of knowledge in the Foster Wales local authority fostering team and dedicated social workers who all work together with local families and local schools to build better futures for local children.
"By fostering locally, you are helping children to stay in their community, with the surroundings, accent, school, language, friends and activities they know. It keeps them connected, builds stability and confidence.
"We'd encourage people not just to foster, but to foster with their local authority, which is part of Foster Wales, a not-for-profit organisation responsible for the children in our care."
To find out how you can foster in Swansea visit www.swansea.fosterwales.gov.wales