What our carers say
Our carers come from all walks of life but the one thing they have in common is the love and support they provide to some of our most vulnerable children and young people.
Sarah Prebble Powley
Sarah Prebble Powley, who currently fosters three children made the decision to become a foster carer of teenagers and sibling groups five years ago with her husband. Sarah used to be a finance director but decided to change her career.
Driven by their faith, the 48-year-old and Ian, 49 were personally moved by the number of children in Hounslow who needed homes and felt they couldn’t expect others to step-up if they weren’t willing to do it themselves. Having chosen to foster instead of having their own children, the couple have over the five years taken in teenagers and sibling groups.
“We had a home, space, energy and wanted to help,” says Sarah who says she hasn’t looked back since starting her fostering journey. She says the experience hasn’t always been easy, but the rewards of fostering far outweigh the challenges.
“Watching a child enjoy the simplicity of life, like climbing a mountain, learning a new skill, or riding a bike for the first time, is incredible. It’s lovely to see them grow in confidence and engage in family life.”
All her foster children enjoy football. And although home life can be hectic, Sarah and Ian love taking them to football matches and cheering them on. They also enjoy supporting them to flourish at school and study for major exams like their GCSEs which, they hope, will give them the future opportunities they deserve.
The couple will continue to foster for as long as they are able to. She added: “Once you start fostering, you can't imagine stopping and not helping more children". Our church, our neighbours and our friends have all supported us and the children in so many ways.
“Don’t be put off because you don’t have children or think you haven’t got the skills. As long as you can offer a stable, loving home and a spare room, then I would recommend it.”
Paul and David
Paul and his partner David have been fostering for nearly five years. They decided to foster because they wanted to make a difference to a child’s life and haven’t looked back since.
“We have learnt so much from fostering. Our foster children bring so much joy and energy into our lives. We put it off for a couple of years and I wish we hadn’t. If you are thinking of fostering, I would say go for it.
“Although fostering has its challenges, we don’t regret doing it. We’ve kept in touch with foster children who lived with us over the years and it’s great to see them growing up and becoming more confident.”
Paul says one of thing enjoys about fostering is supporting a child to do something for the first time. He added: “I recently taught one of my foster children to ride a bike. He didn’t think he could do it and was so nervous. But now we can’t get him off the bike, it’s amazing!
“We also took one of our foster children on holiday and he went on a plane for the first time – I’ll never forget his happy face as we took off!”
Paul said when they first started fostering, they were concerned that a foster child might view a same sex couple negatively. He said: “We were concerned in case the foster children had any issues, but there weren’t any. We’ve talked to them about it and they have all been absolutely fine.” Paul and David said they have received excellent support from Hounslow Council: “The two social workers we have had have been fantastic. If we are having a challenging day, we know we can ring them and talk it through, which makes the world of difference. We also appreciate the free merlin and swimming passes. It’s a great opportunity for us to spend time together as a family.”
Paul and David have also completed their NVQ in fostering, which they found invaluable.
Call 020 8753 -1075 for a friendly chat about fostering, register your interest below or e-mail contact@fosterwithwestlondon.org.uk.
