LGBTQ+ Foster Carers Urge Others to Consider Fostering

LGBTQ+ Foster Carers Jack Doyle and Andy Windebank from Stevenage

Members of the LGBTQ+ community are being urged to be the difference in a child’s life by becoming a foster carer.

Hertfordshire County Council has launched a campaign to dispel the general misconception that LGBTQ+ residents cannot foster. The council is calling on residents from the LGBTQ+ community to apply to foster or simply find out more about fostering.

Rona from Hemel Hempstead is a transgender foster carer who has been fostering with Hertfordshire County Council for 24 years.

Rona, who is currently offering supported lodgings to a care leaver, said: ‘I was quite apprehensive of becoming a foster carer but I was accepted with open arms. It was really lovely. There were no barriers.

‘Every foster carer gets support, everyone’s treated equally. There’s no stigma, there’s absolutely nothing, it’s fantastic.’

Rona Howard, who is now 73, transitioned when she was 50. She said: ‘With the young people, when I first transitioned, I was always very scared and nervous that they would not accept me but things have changed over the years. Fostering gives me a purpose in life. The young people make my life fulfilled.’

Nationally, there is a severe shortage of foster carers from the LGBTQ+ community, and out of 350 fostering households in Hertfordshire, only 10 of them of them are from the LGBTQ+ community.

This is a stark contrast to adoption, where 1 in 5 adopters in the country are from the LGBTQ+ community.

Jack Doyle and Andy Windebank (pictured) have been fostering with Hertfordshire County Council for five years and are currently looking after a sibling group. The couple say fostering has ‘changed our lives for the better’ and are urging others to take their lead and apply to foster.

‘You wake up and you have children there smiling at you, needing your love and care. For us it’s been the best thing we’ve ever done.’

Jack and Andy from Stevenage say the support they’ve received from Hertfordshire County Council on their fostering journey has been immense, from the moment they contacted the service right through the approval process to the current day. The couple also give support to others who foster, being hub carers in a Mockingbird fostering support network.

Anyone who applies to be a foster carer with Hertfordshire County Council receives generous pay and allowances, as well as comprehensive local training and support.

Councillor Fiona Thomson, Hertfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Children, Young People and Families, said: ‘We would like members of the LGBTQ+ community to know that we wholeheartedly welcome their applications to become foster carers. We consider applications from anyone able to offer our children a loving and supportive home, regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity.

‘We pride ourselves on the support we offer to all our foster carers. We’ll be on hand to support you every step of the way, and we have other fostering households from the LGBTQ+ community who will also be able to offer help and advice.’

If you are aged over 21, have a spare room, and want to find out more, visit www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/fosterwithpride , text FOSTERING to 62277 or ring 0800 917 0925.