Kate and Jim – South Coast
TACT Foster Carers since 2017
“We had found ourselves living back in the UK after some years adventuring overseas – we were in our early 30s, married, just bought our first home and had a spare bedroom. It wasn’t an immediate thought that our spare room could be a foster child’s bedroom. Our first thought was that it would become a study or a water sports storage room! However, we had always said we’d consider adopting or fostering a child rather than having our own, but again, we had never given it any serious thought.
Fast forward a few months, and we found ourselves online reading a TACT advert which led us to their website, just like that. It was inspiring enough to make us click the button and ask for more information. It did seem daunting to click the button, and we didn’t know if “now” was the right time, but we thought that it was worth registering our interest; after all it could be a long process and we may not be found to be suitable. Little did we know then that we’d have a phone call within days, and a home visit soon after.
Everything just flowed, we had our many questions answered and we were offered a chance to take part in a ‘Skills to Foster’ course. This is a three-day course which is your introductory training in what fostering involves, and what it’s like to be a foster carer. It gave us the chance to learn further information and to meet other carers, which was invaluable.
Throughout the ‘Skills to Foster’ course we realised we were ready and able to become foster parents, despite our initial thoughts that we were too young or too inexperienced, and that not having our own kids would deem us unsuitable. We realised that in some cases not having other children in the home was an advantage, and that being young (ish!) carers could also benefit the right child. We continued with the assessment process and within a few months we were signed off and ready to welcome a little person into our home. TACT were focused on matching us with the right child for our situation, which made us feel supported and at ease with the next steps.
We’re now nearly a year into our first placement, and we can honestly say it’s been an amazing, challenging, wonderful adventure so far, and we’re really glad to be foster parents. We still get to do all the things we love, like snowboarding, camping, hiking, cycling and surfing, and it’s even more fun doing all that with our foster child with us!
If you think you may have space in your heart and home, and importantly the time, to change a child’s life for the better, then we fully recommend talking to TACT to find out what fostering is all about.”
