Our Western Districts of Home Care team celebrated another wonderful year with our incredible foster and kinship carer families, and all the amazing children and young people they work with, at their Christmas party on the 13th of December.
2017 has been a very busy year for our carer community, with many of our carers supporting children and young people to go home to their families, taking children on amazing holidays, and achieving significant successes with the children in their care. We’re very lucky to have such an incredible carer community, who show so much dedication to the children in their care, and to supporting and protecting children in our community. We’d also really like to acknowledge how supportive our carers are of each other, and the invaluable support that they provide to each other – this is what really makes our carer community such an amazingly strong support network for our carers and children.
It has also been a very successful year for so many of our children – with so many fantastic stories we couldn’t list them all! It was wonderful to be able to celebrate all of the successes they’ve achieved, and to end the year with a celebration for the children and young people who are at the heart of our community.
Christmas can be a challenging time for children and young people who aren’t living with their family, when they aren’t sure what traditions will be celebrated, whether they’ll get to see their family, or even if Santa will know where they’re living. Celebrating together as a community gave siblings a chance to celebrate Christmas together, allowed young people to catch up with friends with similar experiences, and allowed all our children to spend time together in an environment in which they experience acceptance and belonging.
We were lucky enough to have a very special guest visit to make sure that all the children received a present for all of their hard work throughout the year. Seeing Santa handing out presents to all of the children and young people who make up the heart of our community was a wonderful experience for all of the adults, carers and staff alike. It was really wonderful to see so many faces light up with joy and delight when Santa showed off his “dabbing” skills!
Here comes Santa!
Another real pleasure of the day was welcoming our two newest carer families into our community, and introducing them to our experienced carers. It is these relationships that have supported our newest carers through their first placements, from advice about accessing support to providing spare bassinets when required. A very warm welcome to all of our new carers, including our very newest family, who was formally approved the day after the Christmas party. It will be very exciting to reflect with all of them about their experiences as new foster carers at next year’s party.
Western Districts and Inala Community House would like to gratefully thank all of the generous persons and organisations who supported our Christmas party, including the Office of Anastasia Palaszczuk MP, the Office of Milton Dick MP, the Office of the Lord Mayor Graham Quirk, Hands of Hope, and our sister program My Place Family Day Care.
Make a real difference and become a Foster or Kinship Carer today. At Western Districts Out of Home Care, we welcome everyone of all backgrounds to join us in improving the lives of our children and young people in need. Our friendly team will provide ongoing training and support throughout your journey. Get involved today: (07) 3372 1711 | intake@ich.org.au | www.ich.org.au!
