Carlow town couple say fostering is a way to ‘give back’
Foster parents Dolores and Philip O’Neill from Carlow town.
Dolores and Philip O’Neill from Carlow town started fostering 18 months ago. For Dolores, it was a way of giving back.
“We have a good life. Philip and I both work. We were thinking about fostering for a couple of years after seeing an ad for it and we decided to apply to Tusla Fostering. The process took a while, but I suppose they need to be thorough. I always through it’s a nice way to give back to society and to help children who aren’t as well off as ours”, she said.
Like many foster carers starting off, Dolores and Philip initially provided respite care once a month. Earlier this year they decide to foster teenage siblings. Alongside Dolores and Philip’s biological children, aged 19 and 21 years, it’s a busy house.
“Our own children were happy with the decision to foster and they all get on. One is at home and one is away in college but comes home at weekends. My older child will take them out to the cinema and play tech with them. As for me, you definitely become fitter”, said Dolores. “I walk more now. I am on the road with the lads, taking them to sports and other activities and doing things with them.
“You forget how busy a house is with school going teenagers, the lunches, the uniforms etc but it's great to have that activity in the house again.” June is National Fostering Awareness Month, and Tusla Fostering – Ireland’s fostering agency – said it is seeking foster carers from all walks of life across Ireland to help ensure young people can stay connected to their communities. The agency said living with a local family ensures young people can maintain connections with their friends, sports, school, and community, and reach their full potential.
Tusla said it currently works with foster carers from all walks of life. They work with those who are in a same-sex relationship, are Travellers, are of African or Eastern European origin, are Muslim, have a disability, who don’t have a job currently, who rent, who are single, who are over 40, and with parents who both work.
Jacqui Smyth, its national lead for fostering, said the agency welcomes applicants and enquiries from all backgrounds to provide foster care, which comes in a variety of forms, from short-term respite care to relative care and long-term.
“It is important that the pool of available foster carers is as diverse and unique as possible because the needs of every child differ. Right now, in every part of Ireland there is a need for foster carers. Children come into care from every socio-economic group, across religions and cultures, across rural and urban communities throughout our country. Every child deserves the chance to live in a home within their own community.
“In Tulsa, our focus is to support foster carers and encourage people to consider becoming a carer for a child who is unable to remain at home. We do this through a spectrum of support for fostering families. We collaborate closely with stakeholders and colleagues to innovate and advocate for children and families in the foster care system.” For anyone considering fostering, Dolores has some sage advice: “Start small. Respite care is a good way of easing yourself into fostering. Then see how it goes for you. There will always be children who need care. You will be amazed at the different it makes to your life. You set out thinking you are doing it to benefit the kids who need caring, but you benefit also in ways you may not have considered”.
To learn more about being a foster carer with Tusla Fostering, visit fostering.ie, call Freefone 1800 226 771 or email tuslafostering@tusla.ie
