FOSTERING
‘ Give it a go ’
Pete Cornford started fostering in September
“ I always think being a parent is a real privilege and fostering is a wonderful opportunity to make a difference ,” said Pete , who is relatively new to foster care .
Pete and Nicky Cornford started fostering this September and have found foster carers can make a genuine difference to children ’ s lives . Could you follow in their footsteps ?
The Hanwell couple were inspired to start fostering by a talk that was given at church , at the end of last year .
“ I felt very challenged by what was said ,” Pete said . “ And that night I said to Nicky that I didn ’ t want to not do anything about it . I felt like we should get involved .”
The Cornfords , who are both trained teachers , have three children of their own but two of them are at university and the third has just finished university .
“ Our children are older and we had two rooms available , so I approached Ealing Council ,” added Pete . “ The process was very thorough – but that ’ s reassuring because you would want it to be that way . We were helped all the way through it and it was very friendly . They are very honest , too , and tell you what it is going to be like .
“ There are challenges , but anything that is worth doing is challenging ; and we do normal family things together .
“ There is an outstanding team at Ealing and they are on-hand to give you help and there is on-going training , so you are not just left on your own .
“ I would tell anyone reading this who thinks they might be interested to go on , and give it a go .”
Pete said his church is helping to organise a Christmas party for all the local foster children and their carers . He said : “ There is a real community there with the other families . It supports you and you feel part of it .” Read the full story at ealingnewsextra . co . uk / features / fostering-pete
INTERESTED IN FOSTERING ? n Call freephone 0800 731 6550 n Visit : ealingfosteradopt . co . uk n Facebook : / ealingfosteradopt
around ealing December 2017 21