Could you offer a safe space in new place to a child refugee?

Cumbria Fostering launches a campaign this month to raise awareness of a need for foster carers and Homestays providers for refugee children seeking sanctuary in the UK who need a safe, caring place to call home. 

Could you provide that safe space in a new place? Somewhere vulnerable children can feel secure, cared for and hopeful for a better future.

Somewhere they can settle for a few weeks, months or sometimes years as they take steps towards their future. 

They’re just children.

They arrive here from often incredibly traumatic situations – fleeing from war, persecution, violence and civil unrest. Some have been trafficked, many exploited as they made their way here. These refugee  children arrive without parents or family to look after them. As a result, they  have emotional, cultural and practical needs – but you could be the one to help them reclaim their childhoods. They need a safe place to call home. They need to know that there is someone there for them.

Our Cumbrian councils offer different options for looking after young people, this could include foster care or providing supported lodgings as a Homestays provider.

You could be a foster carer – looking after children or teenagers who can't live with their birth families, giving them the space and support to feel safe and secure.

Or you could provide ‘supported lodgings’. This is offering a place in your home to a teenager who has been in care or who arrives in this country with no family or safe place to stay.

As these children are older, they will be working towards having more independence. This means that you will be able to pass on life skills – such as cooking, home maintenance and basic financial advice – helping them to gain skills for independent adult life. They want to be in education or training and you can be there to prepare them for the future and support them on their journey to independence. 

You will be provided with support and training to help you care for these children. Understandably, there can be challenges, but you will have the help you need, when you need it.

Enquire today and open your home to a child who desperately needs it. Register your interest at cumbriafostering.org.uk or speak to our team today on 0300 019 0200