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Andy’s Story
“My name is Andy Hider. I am a single foster carer and have been doing this on my own for 22 years.
I began fostering by accident – a bookmark fell out of a book in the library advertising for foster carers for ‘difficult teenagers’. That was 23 years ago when I was looking to work from home. I continued fostering because I found I was good at it. I have learnt from fostering that if you are prepared to ‘hang on in there’; it is possible to make a difference to the life of a child.
Having said I do it on my own, that’s not strictly true because together with my three sons, we have been a ‘family who foster’. Likewise, ‘doing it on my own’ is never an option with FCA – we work together as one team because we are all part of a team, to make a lasting difference. That’s the beauty of being a foster carer with FCA. I get the support I need to make this work, both for me as the carer and for the young people I look after.
With FCA’s team parenting approach, a complete network of services, which interlock with each other are available to support both the foster carers and the young people who are placed. This high level of support and ongoing training provided by FCA has enabled me to foster young people who have had complex histories, and have often displayed some quite challenging behaviour.
FCA therapists provide guidance and support to carers like myself, the young people we foster and our birth children. FCA recognises that its foster carers are the people who are ‘up at the front’ making a difference to a young person’s life, and that our task is demanding, stressful and complicated.
With this acknowledgement comes the professional support I need to ensure I fulfil my role to the best of my ability. The young person is at the centre of all FCA does and that’s why I chose to foster with them.
The highs of fostering are simple - knowing that the young person you are caring for is in a happier, safer place. This may not be evident from their behaviour and so I suppose the lows are that sometimes you may feel you are banging your head against a brick wall and getting nowhere. But because I have done it for so long, lots of my foster kids are now in their 30s with children of their own and often phone me to tell me that the time they spent with me was the happiest of their lives. So be prepared to wait for the rewards – they’re not instantaneous!”
