October 14 is the start of foster appreciation week and there’s no better time to recognize the amazing work of our current foster care providers, but also highlight the need for additional foster care providers in Simcoe and Muskoka.
Anyone can be a foster care provider, but do you know what it takes? The Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions foster resource team prepared a set of videos to recruit foster care providers in our community.
Those videos were created with the intent to show the current challenges in finding local placements for children and youth and what happens when children and youth are placed outside of their home communities (Simcoe and Muskoka). The approach is meant to be hopeful and to show the positive sides of helping children and youth stay close to home.
The first video on the website is the introductory video. It shows a youth getting into a car and having to go so far away from everything they know, including family, friends, summer jobs, activities, and connection to their community. The following vignettes show the benefits of keeping kids close to home: they remain in close contact with family, keep their summer jobs, remain in the community they know, etc.
Simcoe Muskoka Family Connexions hopes to encourage residents in our vast communities to open their homes to children and youth so that they stay connected to family and community. By opening your home, you can make a difference in their life. You don’t have to be a perfect person, but an individual or couple with a genuine interest in children and a sense of community responsibility.
If you or someone you know is interested in fostering, complete the form at familyconnexions.ca/contact/.
