An urgent call is being sent out to Bow Valley families to foster children in need.
The Calgary and District Foster Parents Association is hosting a foster care information session at Trinity Bible Church, 1717 Bow Valley Trail in Canmore at 2 p.m. on Saturday, June 1.
Karen Tinevez, a foster parent screener with the group, said they want to speak with people who are able to provide a safe, stable, nurturing, temporary environment for children.
“There is an urgent need for foster families in the Bow Valley. We need homes for all ages, but there’s a particular need for ages 0-4 and for adolescents,” she said.
“We have more little ones coming into care – they are very vulnerable kids. For the young ones it’s all about providing continuous care and that opportunity to bond with someone.”
Through no fault of their own, many innocent children are without homes and foster parents can provide a safe, stable and nurturing environment for these children.
Some children have been mentally or physically abused, while others may have been abandoned, or can no longer stay with their families because their parents don’t have the skills to look after them.
According to the foster parent association’s website, these children are almost always hurt, confused, angry, frightened and in “desperate need of care and stability.”
“Being a foster parent is an opportunity for people to give back. These are vulnerable children that need stability, they need encouragement, they need love so they can flourish,” said Tinevez.
“Foster parents can have an important impact on their lives, in setting examples of caring and commitment and of all those things we take for granted within our own families.”
There can be many ups and downs, but foster parents need to be patient, caring and understanding.
Foster parents are also given ongoing training and support and do receive financial compensation to cover a child’s expenses, such as food, clothing, shelter, babysitting and other allowances.
“Foster parents are well supported by their peers, by social workers, by licensing officers,” said Tinevez. “It’s not like we send you out there with children with no help available.”
The information session will also provide information on who can be a foster parent and the screening process involved. Any adult, regardless of marital status can apply, but the minimum age is 18.
“We’re looking for all types of people because we have all types of kids,” said Tinevez.
