This week is a Foster and Kinship Carers’ Week and it is a perfect time for us to acknowledge and celebrate the kindness, generosity and dedication of all foster and kinship carers and their families.

In Australia, over 46,000 children and young people are not able to live with their parents for various and complex reasons such as family breakdowns, family violence or neglect.  Foster and kinship carers are our community’s heroes who open their hearts and homes to provide care and opportunity for young Australians to thrive and belong, whether it’s for a few days, one night, a few weeks, a few months or even years.

Quantum Support Services would like to take this opportunity to thank our wonderful foster and kinship carers for the incredible support they provide each and every day. We gratefully acknowledge positive and lasting difference they make in the lives of children and young people in their care, and contribution to our community. We feel privileged to support our dedicated foster and kinship carers.

Together we believe that all children and young people deserve safe, stable and loving homes. However, across Gippsland there is a growing need for more foster and kinship carers. Quantum is in urgent need to find homes on a daily basis for children and young people up to 10 times the amount of foster homes we currently provide. The greatest barrier to providing short- or long-term homes for young people is a shortage of carers.

Please join Quantum and our foster and kinship carers in building a brighter future for young Australians. Opening your home can make a real difference. A former young person in Quantum’s foster care service shared “You can make such a difference to a child’s life by being a foster carer. If it wasn’t for Quantum, I wouldn’t have my foster family and would have gone down a very bad path. I feel lucky I was placed with [my foster carer]. Absolutely love her, she is such a beautiful person. I wouldn’t be the person I am today if it wasn’t for her.”

Carers come in all shapes and sizes, ages, religions, political beliefs and genders. Some may already be parents and others are single, but all feel the strong need to offer a good home to young people in need. There are also so many different ways to provide care, and so many types of care needed so please get in touch with us  by calling 1800 243 455, or mail@quantum.org.au