Meet Tiana. She and her husband are long-term foster carers of two young sisters. After having their son, they were unable to have more children, which was when they decided to open their home to other children in need of their love and stability.
Keep reading to learn more about her journey as a foster parent.
“Many years ago, my husband and I decided, whether it was adoption or foster care, it was a path we wanted to take.
“We had our son and after that I wasn’t able to have any more children.”
After reaching out to Anglicare and applying to become foster carers, they successfully completed their training and were approved to become carers. Not long after, she received a call from our team.
“So, I got this phone call on a Monday morning. She said, ‘I’ve got these two little girls; they’re little sisters. The only mum they know is their carer mum…. and she’s about to go into palliative care and she’s about to pass away. There’s a high chance they’re going to get separated. Would you consider it?’
“I spoke to my husband and 20 minutes later we rang back and we said yes.”
A few days after, Tiana and her husband got to meet the girl’s carer mother before she went into palliative care. Then, the next day they got to meet the two girls. By the end of the week, they were dropped off at Tiana’s house.
“Here we are three and a half years later and we love them. They are a part of our lives.
“If Anglicare wasn’t there, through this process, it would be a very different journey. We genuinely knew that Anglicare cared about us and were kind, and the team there have been absolutely marvelous. They have expertise and they understand all the options we have with training and resources.
“I genuinely believe that they want to see us succeed as a family with children in care…”
Thank you, Tiana, for sharing your story and for your dedication to caring for children and young people in care. To learn more about long term foster care, please visit our long-term care page on our website.
Watch more of Tiana’s story:
To read more stories from our foster and kinship carers, click here.