My Life Journey Part 1 by Scarlet Jay*

Being a foster child is hard. I won’t deny that, and I won't give false facts that foster care is amazing, you get spoilt, because you don’t! You get treated fairly. However, it does get easier as you learn to bond and trust the person who has accepted you into their home.

Being in care means you’re unable to be with your parents for whatever reason. Everyone’s story is different, and that’s what makes each person in care special and unique. Everyone has their own story and each of those stories are special to that person.

My story starts when I was twelve. Up in till my twelfth birthday I was forced to take responsibility for my siblings.

I had to make sure that they were fed, washed, clothed and in school. I was stuck in a situation where I was forced to become an adult to soon. This had a negative effect on my mental health.

Due to being in this situation I was bullied a lot in school because when I was looking after my siblings, I wasn’t looking after myself because I was already pressured with all the responsibility I had. This really affected my confidence and my ability to make friends.

Due to the bullying I didn’t have many friends and the people I thought were my friends didn’t turn out to be truthful as they said.

This really knocked my social battery, as a result of this I stayed inside and isolated myself from anyone. I felt I couldn’t talk to anyone and I didn’t feel I could go and ask for help. I felt like I always had a black cloud above my head that followed me everywhere. My grades would get lower and lower and the bullying would continue to increasing. I had a negative mindset towards my future and what I would become.

I had dreams of becoming a singer, a dancer, a fashion designer but to me they felt impossible to reach. To me future looked bleak. I felt like my future was just a distant dream that I couldn’t catch. I felt helpless.

I was invited to a family members wedding and I had to persuade myself to be happy. We got to spend the night before in a lovely cottage that was close to the wedding venue. The day of the wedding was amazing, it felt like I could be myself again and I didn’t have to worry about any of my responsibilities, I felt like a kid again on that day. But the mood changed. That evening we were told we were never going home again. This was a shock to all of us...

Could you welcome a young person like Scarlet Jay* into your home? Speak to us about fostering

* Name changed to protect the identity of the young person.