Foster carers' love and support transforming teenage Olivia's life

This is sponsored content for Foundations Care.

Jody and her husband Terry had been considering fostering a child for a number of years but they had felt their own children were too young and may not cope with the changes it could create.

But then when the couple later found themselves as empty-nesters with no children living at home they decided it was the perfect time to follow their hearts and become foster parents.

"We still had plenty of love to share with a child and opportunities we could offer and we felt the time was right to proceed," said Jody.

The couple are very glad they did. Since 2018 they've been full-time foster parents to teenager Olivia who's become part of their family and has flourished under their love and support.

''Olivia has come so far, her grades have improved and she is the star of her netball team," says Jody with a big smile.

Olivia had been without a home and living in a motel as an emergency placement with 24 hour youth worker carers on eight hour rotation for more than a month.

There had been no foster carers available to look after Olivia after her previous carers had to move interstate and were unable to take her with them.

Jody said she was inspired to become a foster carer by the relationships she had formed with children in Out of Home Care and their carers over her years as a teacher and assistant principal in a local primary school.

"There were so many times I saw the positive changes that can happen in a young person living in Out of Home Care who had been provided with specific learning support at the school," Jody said.

"Teaching has allowed me to have a greater understanding of the difficulties that these kids face, and Terry and I decided we wanted to help in any way we could.

"We wanted to have a role in making those types of changes for a child every day through the love and support that we can provide as foster carers."

Terry said it was incredibly rewarding to become a foster carer and see the impact your care can have on a child's life.

"All children need and deserve a nurturing environment in which to grow," he said. "We knew we could provide this to a vulnerable child."

In 2017 Jody and Terry applied through foster care organisation Foundations Care to initially become respite carers but with a plan to later provide other forms of care.

After completing foster care training they felt comfortable undertaking respite care and began doing monthly respite care ahead of welcoming 14-year-old Olivia into their home full time.

"We are so glad we explored foster care," said Jody. "If we didn't we would not have met Olivia and been able to make a difference in her life."

Having the support of an organisation like Foundations Care all the way along the process was invaluable to guide them in the process, according to Terry.

"You need to be realistic and approach foster caring very differently to raising your own children," he said.

"You need to have empathy and a genuine desire to support children in Out of Home Care."

Thirty-three per cent of foster children will be homeless at some point before their 18th birthday, can you help stop this crisis?

Find out about becoming a foster carer with Foundations Care or exploring foster care through no obligation free foster care training call or email Maree Heiss on mheiss@fdc.csg.ngo or 0447 267 299

This is sponsored content for Foundations Care.