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EVERY YEAR, HUNDREDS of children enter Ireland’s social care system, with foster families making a major positive impact in their lives during what can otherwise be a difficult time.
Thousands of children in Ireland currently benefit from the stable environment offered by foster carers, and Orchard Fostering is looking for more couples, families or individuals to help provide that care, support and love in a child’s life.
Orchard Fostering is one of Ireland’s leading providers of high quality independent foster care services for children who cannot live with their birth parents for a period of time. There are currently over 100 foster carers fostering with Orchard Fostering — all from different professional and cultural backgrounds, and all dedicated to helping the children in their care.
Those who have become foster carers with the assistance of Orchard Fostering speak glowingly about the experience, emphasising the rewards that come from providing a strong and secure platform for a child to develop, rediscover their confidence and be happy.
Michael and Shirley, a married couple from Wexford, didn’t have children and felt
they had something to offer to children who may have suffered neglect and difficult upbringings.
“They often surprise themselves when they allow themselves to develop,” said the couple, speaking about the rewards of fostering. “It’s so heartening to see their confidence growing. It’s remarkable to see a child lifting their head more and changing how they walk over time.”
Andria from Galway, whose biological children were in their teens when she began fostering, is similarly effusive about the joy that fostering has brought into her life.
“Becoming a foster carer has been the best decision I’ve ever made, being able to give my beautiful foster child my unconditional love is an amazing feeling, and to see her little face everyday happy and safe is the biggest reward I will ever experience.
“I have never regretted my decision, my foster child has brought so much love and happiness to our home, and for that I’m forever grateful to her.”
Foster carers are not expected to do it all on their own, and Orchard Fostering offers comprehensive resources to help foster families navigate this new world.
With Orchard Fostering you are assured access to a multidisciplinary team of childcare professionals who can offer specialised support services to give every child the best chance of success and enable positive change to be achieved. This includes a fully staffed Social Care team, Education Support Officer, Psychotherapist, Occupational Therapist and Behavioural Specialists. Professional 24-hour support is never more than a phone call away.
Speaking about the support they have received from Orchard Fostering throughout their journey, Shirley and Michael said: “Orchard Fostering has been very supportive. They’re very hands on. The social workers and link workers are always there if you need them. The company organises lots of training, and social events for foster parents and children. It’s a great way to put faces to names and get to know people.
“You don’t see the company as an agency, rather a real hands-on company where the staff know you and the children well.”
“Orchard Fostering has been nothing short of supportive, respectful, kind, understanding, and patient from the day I made that initial first inquiry by phone. I have experienced nothing but positive, informative, compassionate support at all times,” agreed Andria.
If you are curious about whether or not you are eligible to foster, you can check the FAQs on the Orchard Fostering website. It doesn’t matter if you’re single, married, cohabiting or divorced, as long as you the space in your heart and home to give to a child.
“We’d advise anyone considering fostering to strongly consider it. If you’re thinking about it, well then, you probably have a gut feeling that its for you,” say Michael and Shirley.
“You’ll make a difference. Someday in the future, someone, somewhere will be very grateful for how you gave what you could, and in doing so, may have changed the direction of their life.”
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