Every kid deserves a terrific life, foster carers make it happen.
Every kid deserves a terrific life, foster carers make it happen.
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Image Mark Newsham
Rebecca Kennedy and her husband Dan have been CareSouth foster carers for more than six years. The couple provide emergency, long term and short-term foster care until a suitable, permanent home can be found for children and young people.
Bec will be a guest speaker at CareSouth’s Northern Illawarra foster care evening on March 21. She will be joined by a young person who has been in care to answer any questions people might have about the foster care journey.
Bec encourages anyone thinking of becoming a foster carer to make the leap. “It is definitely needed,” she says.
“There is a real shortage of foster carers and you will make a difference to someone’s life, even if it is just providing respite or emergency care.”
“There are so many different types of care that can suit different lifestyles, and it is extremely rewarding, not only for the children you care for but also their birth parents. A lot of these families and parents that you work with as a foster carer haven’t had people support them and that can make all the difference in keeping that family together.”
Bec knows how difficult it can be to have a limited support network as a new mum. She had her eldest son just before she turned 18 and raised him on her own for many years before meeting her husband.
“A few bad choices are sometimes all it takes for parents to have their children come into the (child protection) system,” said Bec. “One of the restorations we have been involved in as foster carers was with a teen mum. I was able to tell her my own story of being in the same position and show her that there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
“At the time I didn’t ever think I would be where I am today. I left school in Year 10 and did my law degree through distance education after I had children. I have a great job and my husband and I have built a wonderful life and I hope that my story helps other young mums think ‘ok maybe that is something I can achieve’. It’s another one of the reasons I am a foster carer.”
Bec and her husband, who have three biological children between them, say it is bittersweet when a child leaves their care, but they are always happy to see them return to their family.
“I’d be a liar if I said it wasn’t hard,” she says. “Of course it’s very sad, and if you weren’t sad about it you probably shouldn’t be a foster carer. These kids need someone to love and care for them, so you’re doing your job right if you’re sad at the end of the day that they’re going.”
Along with short-term and emergency foster care, CareSouth also needs long-term foster carers for children and young people who are unable to return to their families.
“Caring for a child or young person can be a very rewarding journey. You just need to be loving, caring, kind and respectful and have the time and space to care for a young person.”
When CareSouth’s founder Jim McEwan created a vision for the organisation more than 30 years ago it was based on his belief that “every kid deserves a terrific life”.
Interested in finding our more?
Join CareSouth on Thursday 21 March at Thirroul Community Centre
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