Supporting Children With Long-Term Fostering with Barnardo's

Brian and Helen Harrison always wanted to make a difference and fostering gave them the chance to do just that.

When Brian Harrison was working with troubled teenagers he would often say to his wife Helen that he wished he could bring them home with him and give them a happy, stable life.

Seven years ago, at the age of 60, he finally took the step that would change the couple’s lives and became a full-time foster parent with Barnardo’s.

Since then, the grandparents from Bridgend, South Wales, have fostered a number of children and teenagers, providing the love and stability they need after their difficult starts in life.

The couple have two grown-up sons and two grandchildren of their own and initially thought of providing respite care, but Barnardo’s supported them to consider long-term foster care and they haven’t looked back.

Brian said: “You need to be non-judgemental of both the child and their family. We work on developing good relationships with the families who often carry a lot of guilt after losing a child to care.”

“I’ve had the chance to do a lot of training, everything from emotional literacy and speech and language to safeguarding and first aid and it certainly helps.”

The couple chose to foster with Barnardo’s because they felt the charity offered the best package of support.

 “Barnardo’s is great at matching the right child with the right foster family, they won’t overload you. They match responsibly and you get incredible support from a social worker and other foster parents,” said Brian.

Helen said: “We took up fostering because we wanted to make a difference to children’s lives and that’s what we are doing. It’s very rewarding. We believe that children’s lives can be transformed by giving them unconditional love.”