You Can Foster Campaign

In just over a month, 1000 people across Manchester and the North West have enquired into how they can make a difference to a child’s life, through the new campaign You Can Foster.

Many people think they can’t foster because they are single, aren’t homeowners, are too old or perhaps because they are in same sex relationships. But this simply isn’t the case.

You Can Foster is a joint campaign by Manchester and twenty-two other councils to tackle the huge shortage of foster carers in the region and to get more people to come forward and provide loving homes for children.

Karen said: "I’ve been thinking about fostering for some time now but it never seemed the right time. After seeing the article though, I thought I’d bite the bullet and do something about it now. There are too many children who need some kind of help and I really hope I can be one of the people who can offer this support to them.”

The You Can Foster campaign launched on 25 October, with advertisements featuring real foster carers from across the region, with the message – ‘there is no typical foster carer.’

Councillor Sheila Newman, Executive Member, Children's Services, Manchester City Council, said: "To have had a thousand enquiries in just six weeks is great news, but we still want more. The North West has the highest shortage of foster carers outside London so this campaign is really important.

"Many people think they can’t foster because they are single, aren’t homeowners, are too old or perhaps because they are in same sex relationships. But this simply isn’t the case…. we’re trying to show there are many people that can foster. You may also be like Karen and have been thinking about fostering for some time, why wait? Get in touch.”

You Can Foster is being supported by the North West Improvement and Efficiency Partnership.

For more information on fostering visit: www.youcanfoster.org.