1. From a foster carer
“We have been fostering now for nearly five years. We were with another agency initially, but felt that no support was offered in times of need. We have found Tree House very good in all aspects, both in our working experiences and also in private family matters. The support we receive is perfect at the level we want it to be. We have fostered several sibling groups, aged between birth and five years. We have found this the most rewarding thing we have ever done, to watch little people grow from being shy, neglected and damaged individuals. This the most rewarding thing in the world. We have moved two sets of siblings on to adoptive parents. This in itself has been a challenge to our own personal feelings; you cannot help but fall in love with these children and to hand them so somebody else is heart wrenching, but also strangely satisfying. To see these little people grow and develop into confident children is amazing and the day they move to be with their new family, is a rollercoaster of feelings. We tell ourselves ‘job well done’, their lives are now safe and secure forever, and there are more little people who need the Tree House Care treatment to give them a near perfect start in life.
We embrace the children into our family with open arms and open hearts, and the whole family love having these children as part of it. The sadness at moving them affects us all, but we still look forward to the next ones. We include them in everything we do, as they are family members throughout their time with us. They have been to weddings, funerals, days out, holidays both here in the UK and many times abroad, as we love our foreign holidays. We feel it is a perfect opportunity to show these kids other places and cultures around the world.
We love our job as foster carers and are really proud of the work we have done, and without Tree House Care we are sure it wouldn’t have been so successful. Onwards and upwards for us, with many more happy times as carers for the Tree House Care family.
Our motto, job well done, bring on the next set of siblings who need our love and attention so we can keep them safe and help them get a better more positive future.
2. From a child
Before I came into care, I was apprehensive and worried about meeting new families that I did not know. I didn’t want to go into care at first because I did not want to leave my family but on the other hand I did not feel safe where I was living.
I have been with my foster carer for four years and I am settled, very happy and know I am in a safe place. One of the main things that gave me a strong relationship with my Carer was being able to bond with her and understand the boundaries she puts in place. Also she lets me speak my mind and listens to me when I am sad or worried. My foster carer has changed my life in every way, without her I would still be stuck in an unsafe environment and having no rules to follow.
It was hard for me at first because I did not know anyone, but my carer helped me through that stage and now I have a lot of friends.
My carers family was very welcoming when I first came and I love every single one of them.
I hope you take up foster caring and change a child’s life for the better forever.
3. From a young adult previously looked after by THC
Being a looked after young person within Tree House Care was a journey. I remember being taken to a carer’s home. I was greeted by a warm, comforting couple who replaced my dirty clothes with clean ones and gave me comforting welcome. I was given my own space to sleep and spoken to with respect as they took the time to get to know me and what I liked.
During my time with Tree House Care fostering, I was treated with a genuine care, no matter my attitude or behaviour. I was taught valuable life lessons and still carry those values and motivation I was taught and shown by my carers.
There were occasions when I was rebellious, difficult to manage and my behaviour could be quite challenging. Even during these instances my foster carer would spend hours sitting with me, talking me through how I felt about many issues. All of their patience and words still come to mind today.
For me, being fostered by Tree House carers changed my potential as a young person, as the quality of care was amazing and on reflection I can see how experiencing this nurturing really changed my perspective on life and people, as well as my life chances.
My carers built up my confidence and worked closely with me to build up my trust and people skills, as well as respect and responsibility for myself and who I am. This took a lot of time, a lot of 1-1. I never felt this time was given begrudgingly but rather with focus, and enabled me to trust adults in a way I hadn’t had the opportunity to before. This became, and remains, invaluable to me. Each carer taught me different lessons for life and prepared me for independent living.
The relationships I built up whilst being fostered continue still, with one of my foster carers becoming close family to me and a Nan to my children and being present when they were born and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Being fostered by Tree House carers wasn’t as I had experienced with local authority carers. I didn’t ever have the sense that fostering me was a job or career but that families had welcomed me into their home and lives to give me a chance to grow and becoming the person I am today, as well as part of their family.
When I was fostered by Tree House Care, I was aware of the wider Tree House family, other carers and staff. I experienced this in ways such as other carers transporting me 60 miles to school and back daily so I could remain at my established schooling, and members of staff helping advocate for me in meetings, with difficult social workers and the system. Tree House staff were always friendly and honest and in 13 years I can truly say I haven’t ever experienced them any other manner.