Celebrating Brent foster carers and their contribution to fostering

Foster Care Fortnight is taking place between 15 and 28 May 2023. Brent Council will be joining the campaign by running a focused information event and by sharing the stories of various local foster families.

The biggest awareness raising campaign in the fostering sector, Foster Care Fortnight is led by The Fostering Network. The council is supporting the fortnight to raise awareness about children in care and to celebrate the diversity of the amazing local foster families that look after them.

Local foster carers are incredibly different in terms of cultural background, ethnicity, religion, interests and life experiences and skills. However, they are all highly motivated to help local children thrive. Brent values its community of carers because of how well they can meet the needs of the children and young people they look after. Moreover, their diversity makes it easy for the council to find suitable homes for the vulnerable minors coming into care.

Councillor Gwen Grahl, Cabinet Member for Children’s Safeguarding, Early Help & Social Care, said: “This year, during Foster Care Fortnight, we are celebrating the contribution to fostering of local families. Brent’s fostering community is made up of over 50 fostering households. They come in all shapes and sizes and reflect the cultural diversity in Brent. We value this diversity because it allows us to match children and young people with the right carers.”

To raise awareness about fostering and to encourage more families to start fostering, Brent’s fostering team will organise a special fostering information event on Zoom and a walk in Gladstone Park. A new collection of fostering stories has also been created by the council to inspire potential applicants to start their journey in foster care regardless of their ethnicity, cultural background, life skills and experiences.

To discover the inspiring stories of local foster families visit brent.gov.uk/fcf23