Neil and Steve

Neil and Steve are new to fostering and started fostering with us in March 2024. They have been together since 2017 and got married in August 2021.

Neil, aged 55 is a retired magazine editor. He said, "We had been thinking about it for years, then we heard a Radio advert and thought it was a sign, I never listen to commercial radio. So that was it, I just phoned up and applied.  

"We half expected to be turned down as we are two blokes of a certain age wanting to foster, but we were accepted. There's a lot more paperwork and training than I thought but that is fine as it's all in the best interests of the child.

"We are currently looking after a nine-year-old-girl called *Ruby and we recently celebrated her birthday with a big party. We hope that she'll be staying long term with us.  

"Ruby has a lot going on in her life and she is determined to make a go of it. We would do anything for her, I would take a bullet for her.  

"Fostering had taught me that I have a lot more patience than I thought. Steve and I are a great team. There is always joy. It just gets better and better. 

"When I go into something I don’t have expectations because you always learn something new.  I knew I would be a taxi service, but everything is wiped out because there is someone who needs you.

"When we started going through the application, we didn’t know about the generous payments to foster, we knew you got some money for the child but it was more than we expected. We are comfortable financially so that money is just used on Ruby.

"We now know each other's strengths and weakness better, we make sure one person is not doing more than the other. Steve said recently that I was doing more school runs for example and he wanted to do more. He does more of the cooking, we just talk about it and work it out.  

"To someone still thinking about fostering and on the fence, I'd say, have your life changed for the better and just apply."

 

*Names have been changed to protect the identity of the child.