Foster carers for teenagers wanted

An information evening to find out more about fostering teenagers is being held next Tuesday October 12 at Manchester Town Hall.

As every parent knows bringing up teenagers can require a special set of skills to keep both teenagers and their parents happy.

Bringing up someone else's teenagers for them when they are not able to requires an even more special set of skills.

This is why Manchester City Council is looking for people who have already had experience of teenagers - either their own or perhaps through their work - to become foster carers for some of the city's teens who are not able to live with their own parents.

One foster parent who already does this is 62 year old Susan Davis from Clayton, Manchester.

Susan is foster mum to two teenagers and another younger child. As a mother herself of three children, and a grandmother of ten, she was first interested in the idea of fostering when she was much younger but at the time her personal circumstances prevented her from becoming a foster carer.

Many years later, following dissatisfaction with her job, a work colleague asked her what she would really like to do. 'Fostering' was her response and when her colleague got some information for her Susan realised that times had changed and there was actually nothing to prevent her becoming a foster carer.

Although she had imagined herself looking after young children as a foster carer, when she heard about two teenage siblings who lived locally and who were in desperate need of a new home, her heart went out to them.

Two and a half years later she knows she made the right decision to look after them and says that what teenagers need is no different from younger children, and that people are wrong if they think teenagers are more difficult to look after.

She said: "Teenagers are like children of any age - what they really want is to know that they are loved and that their opinions matter. If they can see that someone cares about them and is really rooting for them, and if they are given the chance and the space to do their own thing, that's what really makes a difference."

She added: "What I like about teenagers is that they always let you know where you stand. This actually makes looking after them much easier.

"These children are like my family - and what I love most about them is that they are just normal children - and that makes me very proud. They need a lot of love but they give a lot back.

"I would say to anyone thinking about becoming a foster carer, if you don't do it, who else will? Where do these children go if you or no-one else will take them in?"

One of the teenagers Susan has looked after is Gemma. She said: "It was hard at first, I used to stay in my room, but it got easier and after a while it was just like we were all a big family. We'd argue with each other sometimes like families do, but we'd get really spoilt too, and it felt really good knowing that I'd got someone to turn to.

"That's what teenagers need. People need to give us a chance and try to understand where we're coming from."

There are currently nearly 400 teenagers in foster care in Manchester and the Council is keen to find more foster carers for teenagers for the future.

Councillor Sheila Newman, Executive Member, Children's Services, said: "Our foster carers play a vital role in the lives of children and young people across the city. Teenagers need just as much love, care, and support as younger children, and we're very keen to find more people who can offer the right kind of loving home to young people who are at this stage in their lives."

The information evening for anyone interested in fostering teenagers is being held next Tuesday 12 October at ManchesterTown Hall from 5 - 9pm.

If you are unable to go along in person on the night, more information is available from: tel: 0800 988 8931, email: familyduty@manchester.gov.uk, or visit www.fosterformanchester.com