Steve stopped working to pursue his dream of fostering children who need a loving home.
After a long career Steve closed a number of businesses in 2018 and with his free time decided to foster, something he’d always wanted to do.
Steve said: “I’ve always been involved in children’s activities, from school governance to teaching first aid. I’ve also been interested in special educational needs and disabilities as our birth son has Aspergers.”
Alongside wife Maria, Steve is fostering two brothers aged 12 and 16 who have been with the Mansfields for the last four years.
Steve continued: “We were approved to foster in 2019 as the time was right for us then. So I stopped working. My wife had started working after being a stay-at-home mum and raising our son so all in all it’s been a total role reversal for us.”
Steve’s foster children arrived just five days before lockdown as an emergency placement which was due to last four weeks, Steve said: “It was definitely a baptism of fire being thrown into lockdown so quickly, but we formed strong bonds as a family and really got to know each other. Now the boys don’t want to leave.
Since their arrival, Steve and Maria have prioritised communication to help the boys come to terms with their pasts and be able to move forward, Steve said: “I’m a talker. I will talk about anything and have those really difficult conversations. In the beginning they weren’t able to talk about anything let alone what they’ve been through but now I can’t get them to stop talking!
“I look at how far these boys have come since they came to stay with us. They are totally different, well-balanced young men.”
Steve works as a foster parent rep for his agency Foster Care Associates (FCA) Eastern across Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk, to provide support to other foster parents in the community.
He credits his ‘great support network of friends and incredibly supportive family’ with welcoming the foster children into their lives and making them feel like part of the family, something he thinks is essential for those thinking about fostering.
Latest government statistics show that across Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, there are 3,360 children in care, so more foster parents are urgently needed.
Steve encourages anyone who thinks they could make a difference to find out more, he said: “If one person hears my story or understands the difference they can make then that’s huge.
“One person might not seem a lot but that’s a huge difference to a child’s life. Fostering can definitely be frustrating, but nothing compares to just how rewarding it is. There’s nothing like it.”
If you've been thinking about fostering, then speak to one of our friendly advisors today and discover what it's like to foster with FCA.
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