WITH a variety of different needs and issues, there can be thousands of reasons why children need to find a loving and stable foster home.

And Kev and Sylvia Mahal, from Fawley, are doing their best to provide one for the three children who currently reside with them.

“Fostering is the best thing I’ve ever done,” explains Kev, 51. 

“It had always been Sylvia’s dream to foster and we started providing respite care for disabled children 10 years ago, but I was really doing it for Sylvia.

"After a couple of years I took one of the children to the park and something just clicked - I knew then and there it was what I wanted to do with my life.”

Kev and 48-year-old Sylvia, who is a social worker, made the transition to full-time foster carers for Foster Care Associates [FCA], with Kev giving up his job to become the primary carer for the children, which he says is unusual but rewarding, and that more men should consider it as career.

“We were already fostering, so the system was a little quicker for us,” he says. “You have to be prepared for quite intrusive questions about you family dynamics and background.

"But it is so important that they know everything so that they can place a child in need in the right environment and situation, and the support we got from FCA along the way was very encouraging.”

Ten years down the line, the couple - who have four grown-up children of their own - have never looked back, they have fostered 18 children in that time, and currently care for two siblings and another child who is quadriplegic with cerebral palsy.

“It’s not always easy,” says Sylvia. “But it is very rewarding seeing them change.

"Often when they arrive, they are angry and frightened.

"They don’t want to be here. It doesn’t matter what has gone on in their home lives, they want to be with their parents and not here.

"It can take a long time for them to settle in and trust us, and to know that we are not trying to replace their parents.”

“Lots of children are from abusive situations,” adds Kev.

“And they are scared, so we have to mould our behaviour to ensure they have time and stability to adapt. We treat them as if they are our own children, but they are different due to their upbringing and they are individual - like all children - and so they have different needs.”

Now, with 8,600 new foster families needed for the 27,000 vulnerable children across the UK expected to go into care in need of a stable and caring home this year, Kev and Sylvia want to encourage more people to consider being a foster care family as part of Foster Care Fortnight, which started last week and runs until June 14. 

“If anyone is considering becoming a foster carer I would tell them to do it,” says Kev.

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“And for us, FCA have been unbelievable. Their back-up is second to none. Fostering can be lonely at times, especially if you have a challenging child who is pushing all the boundaries and your friends and family cannot cope with their behaviour.

"We have been very lucky and have not had to go through that ourselves, but the support network is incredible if it is needed.”

And Kev would know, he is currently a rep and mentor for foster carers in the local area. 

Zara Jaquiss from Foster Care Associates explains how more foster carers are needed along the south coast.

“We need lots of carers in the South of England and are actively looking for responsible, nurturing adults who have a spare room and can give children in need of a foster home the support they need to thrive and grow,” she says.

“There are many factors that make up an ideal candidate – everything from being adaptable, resilient and nurturing to being a good listener and flexible in response to a young person’s needs.

"There are all kinds of families and individuals who can begin the hugely rewarding journey into foster care, from single people, LGBT carers and families with teenagers or couples whose children have grown up and left home.

“Fostering is an incredibly rewarding experience. 

"We have some amazing people caring for children and young people across the area, and our regional offices ensure those local to the area benefit from the support we have to offer whenever they need it.”

Foster carers can provide care in emergencies, caring for a child for just a few days or over a weekend to give the main foster carer a break.

Or it can be for longer periods, sometimes throughout a child’s formative years up to the age of 21.

All foster carers receive a fostering allowance which covers the cost of caring for a fostered child.

“But you don’t go into it for the money,” adds Kev. “It’s for the pleasure of seeing the child grow into themselves and start achieving things they never thought possible before.

“To see them go from being angry, frustrated and scared to leaving full of confidence and ready to take on the world gives us an amazing sense of fulfilment that you just can’t get anywhere else.”

Foster Care Associates will be hosting drop-in and recruitment events throughout the region as the nation celebrates Foster Care Fortnight.

For more information visit thefca.co.uk