​LGBT+ Fostering - Pride Month

June is Pride Month and Foster with Bury would like to hear from members of the LGBT+ community thinking about fostering in Bury.

This month marks the 51^st anniversary of the Stonewall riots which took place at the end of June 1969.

There is myth that members of the LGBT+ community cannot foster but this is not true. Foster with Bury is encouraging more LGBT+ people to consider becoming a foster carer to a Looked After Child in the borough.

We welcome the LGBT+ community as potential carers and will support your application to foster. Foster with Bury currently takes care of a high proportion of our 350 Looked After Children, across 71 foster care households, but there are still many children in care whose lives could be transformed by a LGBT+ foster carer.

In order to be eligible to foster you must be over 21 years old, be a full-time resident in the UK or have leave to remain and have a spare bedroom. Whatever your race, gender, sexuality, living arrangements, age or employment status, we want to hear from you.

It doesn’t matter whether you are:

• Heterosexual, gay or lesbian
• Married, living with someone or single
• Living in your own home or renting
• Able-bodied or living with a disability
• Working or not
• Living with your own children or without
• White or minority ethnic background
• Male or female.

Councillor Tamoor Tariq, cabinet member for children, young people and skills, said: “There is no typical foster carer, just as there is not a typical foster child. There is diversity in children in foster care, so it is also important to have diversity in the foster carer community.

“We welcome applications from people of any sexuality, race or religion. Your sexual orientation does not affect your ability to foster a child, you don’t have to be married, in a civil partnership or have a partner either and we have lots of excellent single foster carers. The most important thing is that you can open your hearts and your homes to support a child who may have not had the best start in life and give them a loving, safe environment.”

To find out more about fostering with Foster with Bury, who can foster and the different types of fostering opportunities available, please call 0800 9555 311 or visit www.fosterwithbury.co.uk for further information.

ENDS

Press release issued: 29 June 2020.