“My job is to love each child for as long as I’ve got them. As long as they’re in my care, they’ll get everything – all my love.” – Amanda, Anglicare Victoria Foster Carer since 2019.
Foster carers play a vital role in our communities, opening their hearts and homes to vulnerable children and young people. The support they provide allows children to have a better future. The safe, loving environments they provide promote healing, and open up new worlds for children.
When children and young people need a safe place to live, foster carers like Amanda are there.
Sole parent of Hannah, now 20, Amanda survived a tough upbringing before being accepted at university where she earned a degree in Psychiatric Nursing. During her career, she worked with children and families with complex needs, and always knew she would be a foster carer – it was just about the timing.
Amanda researched foster care agencies and she kept coming back to Anglicare Victoria “What attracted me to Anglicare Victoria is the way valuing people and relationships is at the heart of everything they do,” she says.
After initial enquiries, Amanda completed Anglicare Victoria’s foster care training program, which equips potential foster carers with the skills and insights they need to take on this important role.
After completing her training and accreditation program, Amanda’s fostering journey began. Now, four years later, Amanda has fostered more than ten children and has formed a special bond with each one. She says: “When children come into my care it’s a chance to show them that they’re safe, and that this is what it’s like to be in a home where there’s no violence and there’s no aggression.”
Foster carers like Amanda provide children and young people with a safe, nurturing environment – for as little as one night, or for as long as many years.
Amanda is now providing invaluable support to two young boys who have complex needs. The brothers, now four and six years old, have been living with Amanda since 2020.
Amanda ensures the boys remain connected to their family. She facilitates regular contact with the boys’ older sister and makes photobooks to share with the boys’ parents. “We do it to let their family know that we’re loving their children, until they’re able to” she says. Extending her compassion even further, Amanda has recently taken on shared foster care of another young child, aged 16 months.
Amanda is one of our many foster carers who tirelessly provide invaluable care for children when they need it most – for as little as one night, or for as long as many years. It’s thanks to your generous gifts that Anglicare Victoria can continue providing foster carers like Amanda with the support and resources they need to help vulnerable children find the loving homes they deserve.
If you can, please be generous and donate now to help us continue supporting our foster carers.
