Council praises efforts to find siblings a home
LANCASHIRE County Council thanked the public and the media for the support received towards the ongoing appeal to find a loving foster home for three brothers and their sister.
A special request was recently made to find a Lancashire-based foster family where the children could be together. The children are currently living with two different foster families.
So far, more than 500 enquiries have been made to the appeal, with over a million people reading about the children on lancs.live, sister website of the Advertiser.
The brothers and sister, Harry aged 15, Arlo aged 12, Flynn aged eight and Lilly aged six, (not their real names) have a close bond and it is not in their best interests to be separated.
Being able to keep their ties with each other will help them to be able to thrive in the future.
County Councillor Phillippa Williamson, cabinet member for children, young people and schools, is urging anyone who is considering fostering to think about whether they can help the family or other children in need of a loving foster home.
She said: “The response has been amazing so far to our appeal to find a permanent, long-term fostering family where Harry, Arlo, Flynn and Lilly can grow up together.
“They have been through a lot in their young lives, and are all very close and supportive of each other.
“We are doing all we can to keep these children together. In cases like this, the family relationships take on extra importance. Being able to remain together will be an important source of comfort, strength and support.
“It is obvious that their story has touched so many hearts and we are following up all the enquiries we have received so far. Every single enquiry is important to us, and if you’ve made an enquiry please bear with us and we will be in contact with you as soon as we can. We work tirelessly to make sure that we find the right foster carer or family to suit the needs of each child.”
“The sad reality is that we need to find foster homes for about 20 new children each week. We often have to find fostering families for brother and sister groups, but this is a big number to try to accommodate – hence the appeal to the public.
“I’m hoping that we can encourage people to at least think this over as we also still urgently need foster carers for other children who need homes where they can stay together.”
People are being asked to consider whether a change in their circumstances caused by the current Coronavirus situation could leave them well placed to provide a loving home for these children.
The county council is also urging anyone who has fostered with them in the past to think about coming forward to offer the benefit of their experience.
Anyone interested in finding out more about Harry, Arlo, Flynn and Lilly should contact the fostering team on 0300 123 6723.
To find out more about becoming a foster carer visit www.lancashire.gov.uk/ fostering or call our team on 0300 123 6723.