'I don't think I'd be here today if it wasn't for my foster family'
'I don't think I'd be here today if it wasn't for my foster family'
Jake Jamieson and Lisa Bellis have both become part of their foster families
Jake first met his foster carer Sian went she looked after him during respite care
(Image: Foster Wales )
Young adults who have experienced foster care have spoke about the life-changing impact supportive foster carers have had on their lives, allowing them to go to university, be supported financially and giving them a safe place to come back to.
This Foster Care Fortnight care leavers have said foster care gave them opportunities they may have never had before, giving them a really positive experience despite sometimes getting a "bad rep". They have told their stories in a bid to help others.
Jake Jamieson, 26 from Gwynedd, is now a personal trainer. He went into foster care at seven years old and had several foster families before he finally became part of Sian and Owain's family full-time when he was 18 having previously spent time with them during summer camps.
Jake said: "I was in that time of life when you start a bit of independent living because you're going to university but you still need that support network to go through that transition. I'm extremely grateful they've allowed me to be part of their family, it's been great ever since."
Jake said his experience of foster care has been extremely positive
(Image: Foster Wales )
Despite being placed with different families, Jake said his childhood had still been fairly settled as he was able to stay in the same school and therefore keep his friends. For our free daily briefing on the biggest issues facing the nation, sign up to the Wales Matters newsletter here .
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He continued: "I don't think I would be where I am in life right now if I didn't go into care. Sian and Owain, they've been brilliant role models for me, helped me through university and helped me set up normal stuff like guarantors and bills.
"You always need your mum and dad to help you with things like that."
Jake explained his foster carers have three children of their own and have done lots of fostering over the years. He has now moved out full-time but continues to go back for holidays, birthdays, Christmas and Easter and sometimes has them stay in his house. They also go on family holidays, often opting to head to Turkey.
After studying sport and nutrition at university, Jake runs a personal training business. He said: "I absolutely love it, I've found my purpose and I just went with it. It's ironic because I'm helping people be better versions of themselves and that's sort of what happened to me."
"I think foster care can sometimes get a bad rep. When I tell people I was brought up in care their instant reaction would be: 'Oh I'm sorry to hear that.' I understand they are thinking he's obviously gone through something to be in that situation but I always say don't be sorry.
"For me it's been nothing but positive, if anything I just feel a bit privileged to be able to have those opportunities which I probably wouldn't of had if I didn't go into care. Overall it's a very very positive experience."
Talking about young people who are currently in care, he said: "I would say don't let your past define you. Just because you may of had a bad start in life doesn't mean it needs to go on in that way. Find something that gives you purpose and go with it!"
Lisa Bellis, 27, from Wrexham, is about to start a job as a healthcare nurse. She was fostered by Gary and Del, aged seven, but she was told she had the brain of a two-year-old because she hadn't been going to school.
Lisa said her foster carers have gone "above and beyond" to look after her and her daughter
(Image: Lisa Bellis )
Despite not knowing her alphabet or how to read and write, she passed her high school exams and has recently finished a nursing degree. Lisa said: "I always say I don't think I'd be here today if it wasn't for them."
Lisa's foster carers have three of their own children and several foster children who Lisa now considers how own siblings. She explained Gary and Del always put everybody else first and joked the family couldn't get rid of her now.
She said: "They always went above and beyond. They've taken me on about four holidays and always got me things I wanted. It's meant a lot because I didn't have that love and care they've shown me and people deserve a second chance in life."
Lisa's now a mum to a five-year-old daughter and said Del and Gary treat her like their own grandchild. She joked: "If anything they spoil her too much!"
"It's obviously scary when you come into care because you don't know these people and you may not know why you're there. But it does get easier. You've just got to trust the process and you've got to trust them because they're there to support and show you what love actually is and what a family is."
Data from the Welsh Government shows that in Wales, there are more than 7,198 children in care. However, there is immense pressure on the system with only 3,800 foster families.
Low numbers of suitable foster carers can mean siblings are more likely to be separated, children are less likely to be able to stay in the same area and less young people will get the necessary support.
People interested in becoming a foster carer can find out more through Foster Wales.
Alastair Cope, head of Foster Wales, said: "Foster Care Fortnight always offers a brilliant opportunity to celebrate the people who create lasting change in the lives of so many children in Wales.
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"Every fostering journey relies on strong, trusting relationships to create the stability within a loving home that all children deserve. Whether between a foster carer and a child, a child with their foster siblings, or between a family and their social worker, these relationships open up new possibilities for a child's future and help support them into successful independent lives."
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