News

06.07.07

Fostering to make a difference

Gayna and Amy are still the best of friends

When Amy was 15 her whole world fell apart. She was kicked out from home and taken into care. These days, things are different. Today Amy is a happy healthy 18-year-old with the future in her own hands.

Amy will never forget the day she was taken out of school and told she was going into foster care in Abertridwr. "She had never even heard of Abertridwr," explains, Gayna Jones, Amy's former foster carer.

Amy came to live with Gayna and her husband Glyn back in 2004. "It was supposed to be an emergency placement for 1-2 nights, says Gayna, "but she ended up staying for almost two years."

Despite being Gayna's first and only teenager since she began her fostering career five years ago, Amy fitted into the family extremely well. "She was fantastic," says Gayna. "She took the help that was offered and wanted to better her life. Because of difficult things in her past she could easily have gone down the wrong road, but she didn't."

"I was on anti-depressants back then, explains Amy, but I knocked them on the head within weeks of moving in. I chose the best way."

When Gayna decided to give up work six years ago she and Glyn made the decision to take up fostering. "I always wanted to foster. I thought, if I don't do it now, I never will. I never had fulfilment in work but with fostering it is different. You know you have done your bit to help."

Earlier this year, a few months before her 18th birthday, Amy left the Jones's residence to set up her own home. She is over the moon with this major achievement. "This place was completely run down when I moved in," she explains, "but I have brought it back to life. I have always been a good cleaner."

Even though she has settled in lovely into her new home with her rottweiler and her partner Steve, she admits there are times when she misses her foster parents. "My birthday was in July. I found that hard, but I have adapted to it all. We still keep in touch. I have even taught Gayna how to text!"

Amy describes her relationship to Gayna and Glyn as a loving and caring one. "I trust Gayna and Glyn with my life. They are loving, caring people - they're the best. I always felt part of the family. They showed me respect and didn't treat me as a child. If anything went wrong now I know I can go back there."

When asked how she feels about her foster carer role, Gayna says: "It is an extremely worthwhile and fulfilling job. The children of today are our future. It's so important for them to have stability. They have done nothing wrong. They are just the victims of the circumstance."