Celebrating and thanking all fathers this Sunday

Editor,

As I’m sure you and many of your readers are aware, this Sunday is Father’s Day, a day where we celebrate and give thanks to fathers for all they do.

However, for many young people across Oldham, Father’s Day can be a harsh reminder that they are not part of a traditional family unit, whether through bereavement, family separation or because they are part of a foster family.

Since the drastic changes imposed by the coronavirus lockdown in March, and because change is one of the greater factors that influence the behaviour of those in care, foster carers have had to reinvent new routines supporting the vulnerable children and young people in their care.

From zoom calls to keeping in touch with biological family members to creating new games and activities in the absence of a typical school day, foster carers have worked around the clock over the last three months to ensure those in their care are continuously loved and supported during a time of change.

At Safehouses Fostering we work tirelessly to provide vulnerable young people with a safe place to call home, placing them with foster families that will nurture and care for them during moments of change.

This Father’s Day, we’d like to call on your readers to celebrate and thank those that take on non-traditional parenting roles, those who foster, adopt and care for children and young people.

We’d like to encourage people across Oldham to think about those that are in need of a loving home and consider foster care as a potential vocation, particularly those with transferrable skills who may be facing job uncertainty as a result of the pandemic.

There are so many young people looking for someone to call family and we hope that readers will consider the positive impact they can have on a child’s life.

We’d welcome anyone interested in exploring fostering as a career opportunity to get in touch with any questions, on 01457 829 111.

Hopefully this gives you something to think about this Father’s Day.

Wayne Brown.

Fostering Service Manager at Safehouses Fostering

The views expressed are those of the author of the letter and not those of Oldham Chronicle.