Today’s guest blog comes from my Cabinet lead for Women, Children and Families, Helen Godwin.

Bristol, and the rest of the country, is today marking the start of Foster Care Fortnight; our annual opportunity to celebrate the power of fostering to transform lives and to showcase our brilliant foster carers. One of the best parts of my role in cabinet is meeting young people and their foster carers. Bristol’s carers come from all walks of life but they have one thing in common – the desire to give our children the best possible start in life. They also tend to share an excellent sense of humour and are unbelievably supportive of each other.

The majority of Bristol’s children in care live with foster families. The impact of living in a safe, warm and caring family environment cannot be underestimated. In Bristol we have hundreds of foster carers who are looking after and supporting children and young people, giving them the best possible opportunity to flourish.  Our foster carers transform  lives and play an extraordinary role in making sure our children in care have the same opportunities for success and happiness in life as our own children do.

Bristol needs more foster carers, so that we can ensure we can place children with carers in their local community, and so that we have a wide variety of carers to match children with. We know that Bristol is a city that cares and a city that looks towards the future, so please use this Foster Care Fortnight to find out more about fostering. Our foster care recruitment team will be going on the road holding events across the city – click here to find out more. This Foster Care Fortnight could be life changing and transformative for you too!