LGBT Fostering

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"We knew being a same-sex couple wouldn't be a barrier to fostering"

During Pride Month, we share a blog from Liverpool foster carers from the LGBTQ Community about their fostering journey over the last 2 years.

We got our first insight into fostering when we met the foster carers of our adopted girls.  We were inspired by them and still have a good relationship with them. 

We initially thought our girls maybe a bit young at 5 and 7 for us to become a foster family, but we reconsidered after meeting with Phil from Liverpool Fostering team at our LGBT meet-up group. 

Phil shared his experiences with us and told us how his children were the same age as ours when they started fostering. It was clear to see how much he and his family loved doing it, and we started to think we could actually do this!

We are now almost 2 and half years into fostering and it has been so rewarding!  We are currently caring for our 3rd baby who’s 6 months old and has been with us since he was a few days old. 

He is just an absolute dream and brings so much joy to our family.

Our first foster baby was with us for 20 months and he moved on to adoption.  Saying our final goodbye to him was one of the hardest things we have ever done but equally so rewarding seeing him so settled with his forever family and knowing we had played a part in preparing him for his next chapter.

We have stayed in touch with his new family and they send us updates and photos regularly as well as video calling us so it wasn’t really goodbye.  We feel like him and his forever family are now part of our extended family, the whole journey was emotional but so  special.

We have had 3 foster babies since we were approved in October 2018 one was for 20 months, one was for 4 days and one we are 6 months in to.  Each circumstance has been totally different but each one such a unique and rewarding experience.

During the pandemic we have had more of an opportunity to get to know the birth parents as lots of contact has been done virtually via video calling and this has been so beneficial in building up a relationship with the babies parents so they feel secure knowing who is looking after their baby and I feel this has been invaluable. 

We think the most important traits of a foster carer are to be loving and empathetic. You are there to love a child like they are your own but always remembering they are another person’s child, and we as foster carers need to show empathy to the parents and not judge them. Regardless of a person’s gender, religion, sexual orientation etc. all foster children need is to be part of a loving family in a safe and happy home.