Family making a difference to foster children

WHILE many people have had to make changes due to Covid-19 – some families have had the extra challenge of looking after foster children during the lockdown.

Colin and Tanya Dickson, from Crossgar, Co Down, are making a real difference to a toddler in their care.

They call themselves, along with their 15-year-old daughter Hannah, “Team Dickson” as they help care for Mary (whose real name has been changed to protect her identity).

Colin and Tanya always wanted to be foster carers but waited until Hannah was at the correct age to understand about fostering within a family setting.

They have now been caring for other children for five years.

Tanya said: “Fostering was going to be a big change for our daughter so we wanted to ensure she could accept a new child in the house and help us out.

“We started with short breaks, for a weekend at a time, to get the family used to having someone else around. Surprisingly, we adjusted very quickly.”

The Dickson family were due to place their foster child with her permanent family, but this is on hold at the moment.

Tanya added: “We have had Mary, our current child, for more than two years and we are preparing her for her forever family as she is going to be adopted.

“While Covid-19 has put a hold on this for now, we still have to prepare both Mary and ourselves, as it will be hard to say goodbye. But as our daughter keeps saying, ’It’s part of foster care’ and it’s what’s right for Mary.”

While being a foster carer can be understandably demanding in normal times, the Dicksons enjoy helping the children in need.

Tanya said: “Although there are challenges, the rewards by far outweigh any of these.

“People often say to us that we have changed a little girl’s life for ever but we say she has changed ours more.”

She credits their social worker and the support from HSC NI Foster Care and said they couldn’t have taken in the children without their help.

Tanya added: “One of the challenges is trying to teach her [Mary] about adoption. How do you teach a three-year-old she will be leaving us and going to a forever family?

“We had to be creative and came up with the idea about the Christmas elf.

“Like many houses, we had Bauble the elf at Christmas, who was then ’adopted’ by Mary and now lives with us all year round and is part of our family. We even made an adoption certificate to show her it was real.”

If you are interested in becoming a foster carer or just want to find out more about what is involved, visit the HSC Northern Ireland Adoption and Foster Care website or call 0800 0720 137.

There is more information about the HSC’s adoption foster care on Facebook and Twitter.

CARING Tanya & Colin Dickson with their daughter Hannah