Bid to attract more same-sex couples to be foster carers
THERE are nearly 400 children and young people in foster care across Bridgend County Borough.
Foster carers provide loving homes and life-changing care for children, and as proud supporters of LGBTQ+ Fostering and Adoption Week, Bridgend Council wants to encourage more same-sex couples to foster.
One couple who has recently started their fostering journey is Laura Evans and Nikki Blackman from Bridgend.
Laura and Nikki are both primary school teachers and met in 2014 when they worked together at the same school. A year later they bought their first home and then started to explore different options regarding children.
Laura said: “We decided that fostering was the best choice for us as since we couldn’t have a child which was genetically both of ours, why not care for children who need it?”
Their decision was cemented towards the end of 2019 when Nikki’s parents took legal guardianship of her cousin. This experience really inspired them to foster as they could provide a safe, loving and caring home for a child.
The application process then started in February 2020 and they officially become foster carers at the beginning of November.
“The application process went really smoothly,” said Nikki. “Unfortunately the pandemic began shortly after we started the process so we only met our social worker in person once. But our relationship is still strong and we’ve adapted to using digital methods of communication and training.
“The support from Bridgend Council has been great and our social worker remains with us today. She has been very supportive throughout the process and guided us through the assessment. We also receive ongoing training so we can develop professionally as foster carers.”
Nikki and Laura are now respite carers for Bridgend Council, which means they look after children and young people temporarily so that a carer can take a break.
Nikki explained: “There are so many different types of fostering and it can be very flexible. For example, Laura and I agreed to be respite carers for the weekend and school holidays.
“Our experience has been really positive so far and we now have a regular fortnightly placement for a child at the weekend. It gives his carer a little break and it’s the best of both worlds for us. When children come to us for respite we can do all the fun things so they really enjoy their time.”
Laura said: “We get great pleasure looking after young people and it’s such a fulfilling and rewarding job.”
Laura and Nikki are keen to recommend fostering to anyone who might be able to offer a loving home and are the first ones to dispel any misconceptions about same-sex couples fostering.
“There are misconceptions about fostering as a same-sex couple,” said Laura. “From the child will get bullied or made fun of, to children need a mother and father in the home for optimal psychological development.”
Nikki added: “It really saddens me that these still exist.
“Our advice would be to remember that sexuality will never affect anyone from becoming a foster carer - what matters the most is having the passion and determination to transform the life of a vulnerable child.”
So what would they say to anyone that is considering fostering?
“I say go for it!” said Nikki. “It is so rewarding and it’s lovely to provide care for young children and make a difference in their lives.”
For more information about becoming a foster carer visit www.bridgend.gov. uk/fostering or contact the Bridgend fostering team on 01656 642674.