Warrnambool’s foster carers are being praised for going ‘above and beyond’ what is asked of them.
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Over the past 12 months there has been an increased number of children coming into foster care in the south-west and MacKillop Family Service’s Tania Ferris is urging it’s time the community said thanks.
“It’s vital that foster and kinship carers feel valued and supported within the community as each year the number of children and young people needing foster care grows, and it grows more quickly than we can find people to care for them,” she said.
“They’re volunteers in the community that come out and say ‘I’m going to open my home to the these children and I can help support them’,
“They work in with schools, they’re working with professionals, they’re working with birth families and providing all the needs for these kids.
“This week offers a real opportunity for the community to appreciate the importance of foster and kinship care.”
Mrs Ferris said the week’s activities included the collection and compilation of community thank-you messages written on a series of A3-size canvases and displayed on the walls of the Lava Street premises.
Community members are being urged to visit the group’s temporary stall within Warrnambool’s Gateway Plaza this week and add their kind words to the canvas.
“These people tirelessly put the needs of the children and young people they care for first and we can’t thank them enough for the commitment and care they provide every day,” Mrs Ferris said.
”We’re asking the community to say thanks too.”
MacKillop are introducing a new program to assist in emergency foster care situations.
“We need to be able to meet the needs of the children,” Mrs Ferris said.
“One of the ways we’re hoping to do that is by developing a new program called ‘First Call’, an emergency care where children are able to be placed within a home while we find a foster carer to meet their needs.
“The issue is we need more people to think about how they can help kids who need a safe and secure home.
“If you can provide a safe, supportive and nurturing home and care for the wellbeing of children and young people, you can be a foster carer.”
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