Capstone Foster Care have been building brighter futures for the children and young people in their care for the last 10 years. Capstone are a founder-owned, independent fostering agency with 15 local teams ready and available to support their foster families across England.
If you are gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender and have ever wondered, “can I foster?” the answer is a resounding “yes”. Sexual orientation doesn’t matter nor does it matter if you are single or couples. Fostering can transform your life as well as making a dramatic and positive change in the life of a child.
One same-sex couple described how they came to Capstone Foster Care. While sitting around the pool on holiday in Cyprus, the couple were continuing a discussion they had been having for 10 years – having their own children. Being men, having their own children was a bit of a challenge.
That day, “we wondered if fostering was something we could do!? Could we open our home to troubled kids?” There were so many questions. “Could we care for vulnerable children? And if we did, would we be strong enough to say “Goodbye” when the time came?”
There are different types of fostering placement such as placements for disabled children, placements for sanctuary-seeking children, short-term foster placements, long-term foster placements, and parent and child placements. So many possibilities, and so many questions. The couple made the decision to “get the ball rolling” when they returned from their holiday.
They called Capstone Foster Care. “It was amazing! …because it was all completely new to us, we knew we wanted a fostering agency that could offer a lot of ongoing support, and we instantly (literally) felt like we had it!”
“I remember being extremely nervous when the whole process began. It was all so new and unknown to us. After one phone call to Capstone, that ‘ball’ was well and truly rolling. We had initial meetings set up, we had packs sent through the post to us, and we suddenly had a reel of phone numbers to ring if we had any questions or queries.”
“The ‘process’ to get us to approval was the part we completely dreaded. We thought it would be gruelling and we thought it would take forever, and we weren’t looking forward to it at all!” This is a common misconception about the application and registration process.
“We couldn’t have been more wrong! It ended up being such an easy, gentle process, with numerous visits from social workers and assessors over the coming months who would assist us in all the aspects we were required to fulfil. It really felt like a supportive, guided process and before we knew it, in March 2015, 6 months after that first phone call, we went to panel and were approved as foster carers!”
A month later, they had their first placement, a 14-year-old boy. “In September of 2015 we returned to Cyprus on holiday and it felt so amazing to be there, sat around that same pool where we had been discussing the possibility of fostering 12 months earlier, but this time we sat there, with our foster son!”
Gay couple with their foster child
Their foster son is still with them, along with a 6 year old boy who joined the family early in 2016. “It is so incredible to see just how well both boys are doing, and just how far they have come in such a short amount of time. Making that decision to foster was the best decision we could have ever made.”
When individuals become registered foster carers and welcome a child or young person into the family, the experience can change their lives in a positive manner just as it improves the life of the child or young person.
Are you interested in becoming a foster carer? Capstone Foster Care is seeking foster carers from all walks of life, backgrounds and cultures. Give us a call on , visit our website: www.capstonefostercare.co.uk and like and follow us on social media.
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