A Decade of Fostering: Louise & Viv's Story

Louise and Viv Thomas are Calon Cymru foster carers with lots of experience and plenty of memories! We caught up with them following their 10 year anniversary to find out more about them.

How long have you been fostering in total?

We’ve been with Calon Cymru for over 10 years now, but I also fostered years ago with Cardiff Council. I fostered for 3 or 4 years in total, but decided that my son, who was 10 at the time wasn’t quite ready, so decided to put it on hold for a while.

What type of fostering do you do?

These days we do short term and respite. We originally did long term fostering, and must’ve done that for around 7 or 8 years, before moving over to short term placements. Our favourite part of short term fostering is seeing several different children and feeling that we are making a difference to lots of lives. We really enjoyed long term fostering too, and loved being able to nurture each child for a longer period of time. We’re still in touch with some of the children we’ve fostered!

Why did you decide to foster?

I wanted to help children, as I had a tough life growing up and felt that nobody was there to help me. I knew I would have benefitted from extra help and support. I also only ever had one child and felt I had more love to give.

What has made you continue to foster for over 10 years?

For us it has been seeing the difference we are making to the children’s lives. We’ve seen loads of differences in them from when they come to us, and when they leave. We also think if we don’t help them, then who will?

What did you do before fostering?

I’ve worked since I was 15, but most of my career was spent as a qualified chef. I worked in care homes for the elderly for 28 years and enjoyed the caring side of the role. I gave up my work as a chef to become a foster carer and haven’t looked back since. When I met my husband Viv he was already retired but had worked as a miner as well as a taxi driver.

What skills from your career and personal life prepared you for fostering?

I had a tough background growing up. I think unless you have had a similar experience to children who are in care, it’s hard to fully understand what they are going through. Looking back, what I went through as a child has probably equipped me to understand and sympathise with a lot of the children. My job was also tough both physically and emotionally and I think that prepared me well. For me and Viv, a lot of fostering is to treat the children like you would your own, and to give them love and respect.

Why did you choose to foster with Calon Cymru?

We were looking around different fostering agencies and stumbled across Calon Cymru. We sent an enquiry and shortly after Barrie came around to the house. He asked us a few questions, and gave us more information about fostering. We really appreciated that he told us straight and didn’t sugarcoat anything, it all felt very real.

What is your favourite thing about fostering?

We love the feeling of giving back, looking after the children, and watching them thrive. Now that we do short term fostering, we spend plenty of time at local parks. We’ve found a lot of the children love being outdoors. We have some lovely parks nearby including Margam Park and Bryngarw House so make good use of them, we really enjoy going for picnics or walks with the kids. It’s old fashioned, and is a great way for them to burn off energy. We’ve also discovered local drop in centres with lots of different clubs during the school holidays, when we take the foster children there, they get to meet new kids and play which is lovely.

What training and support do you receive from Calon Cymru?

We see our Supervising Social Worker Rhea at least once a month without fail. We also do lots of training, mainly in the Cardiff office. We’ve found some of the training we’ve done to be really helpful. Anytime we’ve needed help or support out of hours, we’ve found there’s always been someone at the end of the phone, and we’ve even had someone come straight to us to give us hands-on support. The Support Workers are great and when we’ve had troubles in the past, they’ve been keen to come and help, to give both us and the children a break. Everyone at Calon is a good person, and they’ve always been so helpful. They’re a real pleasure to work for and we honestly wouldn’t foster with anyone else. We also attend our local support group regularly, and find it great to chat with other local foster carers.

Would you recommend becoming a foster carer with Calon Cymru?

Yes, and I have, to quite a few people. The team is really stable and supportive, we’ve never felt alone. I can’t say a bad thing about Calon. We still remember Barrie Lewis [Recruitment Manager] coming to visit, and having Jacqui Reese [Support Services Manager] as our first Social Worker. They are still at Calon now, which shows how steady and experienced the team is.

If you could give advice to someone interested in becoming a foster carer, what would it be?

I would tell them to call Calon Cymru. Once you’re approved as a foster carer, remember your training and there’s always someone at the end of the phone to give you help. Don’t struggle on your own, there’s always help somewhere. Every time I’ve rung for support out of hours they’ve always helped me. All of these kids need someone, so persevere, and when times are tough, remember there’s somebody inside there somewhere.