A Cumbrian foster carer is urging people to help youngsters seeking asylum in the county.
Eileen Binstead, of Workington, has been a foster carer for over 30 years.
She is helping Cumbria County Council ask people to come forward to consider if they can make an impact on the lives of young people when they need it most.
The majority of young asylum seekers who need foster care in the county are boys aged 14 to 17 years old, and from countries across the Middle East and Africa.
Most speak little or no English, many have travelled for months before arriving here and will have experienced traumatic events, said the county council.
Some of them need short-term emergency placements, while others are looking for longer term foster care.
Eileen said some of her most rewarding placements were for unaccompanied youngsters going through the asylum-seeking process.
In 2008, a 15-year-old boy from Eritrea was placed with Eileen.
Eileen said he had suffered a traumatic journey to the UK, travelling on a boat from Italy.
The friend he was travelling with fell overboard during the journey.
Eileen said: “It definitely helped him to talk and I think he found it therapeutic.”
She added that when he begun to attend school in the UK, he made lots and friends and began to thrive.
He stayed with Eileen for three years, continuing to live with her even after he left the care system and started work in a local factory.
Eileen said: “I would definitely encourage others to think about taking on placements, whether for a short or long time, you can make a huge impact on the lives of these young people when they need it most.
“If you are the sort of person who wants to help, who could turn them away?”
It takes around eight months to become an approved foster carer.
Drop-in sessions about fostering will be held at:
- Friday June 17: Costa Coffee (drive thru), Walney Road, Barrow from noon to 2pm
- Thursday June 30: Virtual event, 6pm to 7pm. Join the presentation here.
- Saturday July 2: Fostering information stand at Skelton Show, Hutton-in-the-Forest, Penrith between 10am and 4pm
- Saturday July 16: St Michael’s Church Hall, Workington, 9.45am to 11.45am and 12.15pm to 2.15pm.
