Transferring from the local authority, we had heard many horror stories about leaving a local authority and going to a private fostering agency. However, we were desperate for a fresh start with an agency where we would feel supported and cared about after experiencing some challenging times with the local authority. The reason we chose to transfer over to Young People at Heart was simply down to the response and information we received during our initial visit with them. We had spoken with various agencies, but we didn’t get a “feel” from them like we did with Young People at Heart. When we had our initial visit at home, they made us feel empowered, worthwhile and proud to be foster carers which we had somewhat lost in recent times. We knew immediately that Young People at Heart were who we wanted to be a part of.
Despite having our young person already living with us, the assessment process was simple, flexible and relaxed. We always felt supported and felt able to ask questions along the way. There were a few occasions where we had to cancel and change our assessment sessions due to circumstances with our young person. Young People At Heart were understanding and supportive of this and offered us help and advice at these times.
Once we had completed our assessments, we went to panel. Although we had been to panel with the local authority, it is still a nerve-wracking experience. However, the Young People at Heart panel made us feel relaxed and very welcome to be there. They showed a great interest in us as foster carers and as people and we were met with praise and heart-warming comments about the progress our young person had made since being with us.
Since transferring to Young People at Heart, our fostering journey has been transformed. As foster carers, we have become part of a family. We have gained friends who have become a valuable part of our support network. We had never connected with other foster carers and this was a new experience for us. We regularly attend the coffee mornings and catch up with both staff and other foster carers of Young People at Heart. The difference we have also experienced is a different world of support from our supervising social worker. We know that we can call or text and will get a response very quickly. We have had a totally different experience of being supported and feeling as though we can rely on Young People at Heart supervising social workers to help us achieve things for our young person and successfully advocate for them.
For our young person, they have seen a totally different view of being in foster care. Up until transferring to Young People at Heart, our young person only saw being in foster care as a negative thing. They have now had access to many opportunities and experiences they never thought they would do. They enjoy seeing the Young People at Heart family and have made lots of new friends they see regularly thanks to the social work assistants.
In September, we all attended the Young People at Heart birthday event. Our young person wrote their review for Young People at Heart and on the part where they were to write what they had enjoyed, our young person wrote “making new friends”. They have since asked for play dates with the young people they met.
In December, we attended the pantomime with Young People at Heart. Our young person stated afterwards, “you didn’t say we were going to the pantomime with all of those guys. Can we come again next year? And can you ask when we can all meet up again please?” For our young person, this is something we never thought we’d hear and we know they feel part of a family just as much as we do.
To show you exactly the impact Young People at Heart have had on us, we attended our young persons looked after review. Our young person was asked to scale his life on a scale of 1 to 10. Our young person, for the first time in 3 years, rated his life at a 10. Our young person would not have been able to rate his life at a 10 without the help, support, love and experiences that Young People at Heart have provided us with. We thank them from the bottom of our hearts.