Shannon, Debra and Steven's long-term fostering stories
Debra and Martin share their long-term fostering journey, while Shannon a young person in their care, describes how fostering changed her life.
We are honoured to share the heartwarming and inspirational story of Shannon and her long-term foster carers, Debra and Steven.
In this conversation, Shannon opens up about her difficult home life and incredible journey to where she is now. She candidly discusses the hurdles she has faced, the powerful bond she has formed with her foster parents, and her unwavering passion for education. Shannon has not only overcome significant challenges but has also thrived and grown in ways she never imagined possible. She talks about the incredible difference that committed foster carers like Debra and Steven make in the lives of others like her.
We also hear from Debra and Steven, who talk about the importance of making young people feel safe, how they felt welcoming Shannon into their home, gradually gaining her trust, and the difference fostering can make in a teenager's life.
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Shannon, Debra and Steven's long-term fostering story
Read Shannon, Debra and Steven's video transcript
Steven: Most children that have come here, I think we've changed them somewhere along their life.
Debra: It's a lovely feeling when you see them actually start to relax and start to enjoy themselves.
Shannon: If I hadn't found Deborah and Steven, I don't think I'd be where I am now. Because it's not a nice way to live the way I was living. I've had social services involved in my life since I was two, it's been rocky at home. It was surrounded by violence, and that was just what I was accustomed to. That was just the normal for me. I first went into care when I was 13, and I went back home. It didn't work out again, same story, and then I came here as an emergency. It was only meant to be a one day emergency, and I've been here for three years now. I haven't left since.
Steven: Shannon's background was just purely neglect. She's the oldest, and she was kind of left to look after all her siblings, and she was left at home. That's why she didn't go to school, to look after the children. So when she came to us, she just looked lost.
Debra: She couldn't get to grips with the home situation. She wasn't used to people being at home, people being there for her, so it took her a while to actually stay in the house.
Shannon: It was a bit scary at first, because I'd been in foster care previously, but it wasn't the same experience I've had now. They understood that I wasn't necessarily going to be like the normal 15 year old. I had a few issues. I just thought I'd been let down so many times that it was going to happen again. It was just, yeah, very chaotic.
Debra: Once you can get that trust with them, it's difficult, but the trust does come and they open up that absolutely there's so much out there for them. A lot of people shy away from the teenagers in foster care because they come with a lot of excess baggage, but they just need someone to listen to them, someone to sound off on.
Steven: So that's why we guide them, not push them. We guide them and help them. We don't, we don't judge them.
Debra: They just need a safe environment, somewhere where they feel safe.
Shannon: I wasn't cared for at home, but I came here and Deborah taught me, if I want a good life, I was gonna have to go at school, and I've never missed a day since.
Debra: And it's lovely to see them flourish.
Shannon: It inspires me to do so much like I'm doing a level three Travel and Tourism (course) now. I want to progress on to university to do the management side and hopefully find a good career.
Debra: And seeing Shannon pass her exams and get a merit on the first of first exam results of college, I think that was I was so proud of her for that.
Find out more about long-term foster care
Find out more about becoming a long-term foster carer like Debra and Steven and fostering teens by completing an enquiry form. Discover more fostering experiences by readingreal fostering stories from our North East fostering community.
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