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What is involved in fostering refugee children?
Children arriving in the UK need a safe, caring place to call home. Somewhere they can settle for a few weeks, months or sometimes years as they take steps towards their future.
They’re just children.
They arrive here from often incredibly traumatic situations – fleeing from war, persecution, violence and civil unrest. Some have been trafficked, many exploited as they made their way here. These refugee children arrive without parents or family to look after them. As a result, they have emotional, cultural and practical needs – but you could be the one to help them reclaim their childhoods. They need a safe place to call home. They need to know that there is someone there for them.
You could provide that safe space in a new place. Providing a place in your home to a teenager who is in care or who arrives in this country with no family or safe place to stay. They want to be in education or training and you can be there to prepare them for the future and support them on their journey to independence.
You will be provided with support and training to help you care for these children. Understandably, there can be challenges, but you will have the help you need, when you need it.
Who is it for?
Children who arrive in the UK without their parents. Most children are aged between 11 and 17 and most are boys.
Why is it needed?
Refugee children need safe and loving homes. They need support while they go through the process of applying for permission to remain in the UK. They also need help to learn the language and to adjust to their new country.
Why do it?
There has been a significant increase in demand for this type of fostering. Fostering young people who are seeking asylum does come with its challenges but it is also hugely rewarding as children settle into their new life in the UK.
We need foster carers and supported lodgings hosts – new and existing – to come forward and provide that safe space for as long as these vulnerable children need it. It may be days, weeks, months or years, but these carers can make such an incredible difference to children and teenagers in that time. We’re asking people to offer their home as a refuge at a time of crisis and uncertainty, in a place that is strange and unfamiliar.
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