Jess and Toni – TACT Foster Carers since 2021
North West
Myself and my partner were always aware that having children would not be a physical possibility for us, due to the fact that we are gay. We discussed adoption, surrogacy, sperm donors etc… However, we eventually decided that having our own biological child was not an importance to us and we wanted to help anywhere we could within the world of fostering or adoption. We knew that with fostering we could help a lot more children on their journey than we could through adoption so we initially decided to find out more. Then lockdown hit, and with the statistics being released shocking us, we knew it was time to enquire. We did a lot of research and contacted several authorities and agencies but when we found TACT, they stood out a mile from the others we had contacted. They gave us warm, calm and caring vibes, and we immediately felt at home with them. It proceeded to get better and better from there.
This will be our first Christmas as foster carers and we are most excited about Christmas Eve. We’ve been building our Christmas Eve box and are excited to get our matching Christmas Pyjamas on and watch some Christmas movies with hot drinks and mince pies as a family. For over 15 years, I have collected Christmas baubles from my travels around the world, and it is a tradition that I have passed on to my partner Toni (who now spends much more money on them than I ever did myself!). It is now something that we have passed onto our Young Person; when we travel with her we let her pick out her favourite bauble. Our latest one was from a visit to York to see her nan and brother.
So far, seeing the confidence that has shot out of our young person is definitely a great feeling and has been our favourite part of fostering – she has become a confident young lady! We have agreed that every Christmas at least one of our presents to each other has to be handmade, to show that gifts don’t have to be of monetary value, and the thought of coming up with ideas and spending your time creating a gift is far more valued than any bought gift could be.
If I was to give advice to anyone thinking of enquiring, I would first suggest going with TACT on your journey. They made everything so easy for us, invited us into their family, and they can’t do enough for you. We have made friends for life through TACT and look forward to our future with them. We would also suggest that you don’t hesitate to enquire. We did because we were worried that it could happen overnight and we wouldn’t be prepared, but you are eased in and there are reviews/chats to get to know each other, as well as valuable training and much more, all before the fostering begins.
Visit our myth-busting LGBTQ+ Fostering page.
