Ballymoney couple honoured for their commitment to fostering children and young people

Joanne Donnelly McAteer and Seamus McAteer received the Excellence in Foster Care Award at the weekend for the Northern Ireland Foster Care Awards at the Hilton Hotel, Belfast, hosted by The Fostering Network in partnership with HSC NI Foster Care.

Kerrylee Weatherall, Interim Director of Children’s Community Services who represented HSC NI Foster Care at the event said: “The Northern Ireland Foster Care Awards provides an opportunity for us to celebrate the enormous contribution that all foster carers make to the lives of our children and young people.

"Their continued commitment to providing the best care and support for children and young people in foster care is quite simply inspirational, thank you to each and every one of them.

"Our foster carers are all extraordinary people, giving of themselves every day to provide a safe, loving and nurturing environment to the children and young people who need this. We hope this event goes some way to showing how much we value our carers and appreciate the work they do and the kindness they show every day.”

Kathleen Toner, Director of The Fostering Network Northern Ireland, said: “Fostering a child can be transformational for that child and we are privileged to support more than 3,300 foster carers and kinship foster carers in Northern Ireland, who care for more than 80% of children in care.

"The awards are also our opportunity to raise the public’s awareness of the importance of foster care for children in our communities and to thank all those who daily make a child feel safe, secure and loved.”

Joanne and Seamus received the Excellence in Foster Care Award. Joanne started fostering nine years ago as a single foster carer. She has two birth children and three foster children, who she’s caring for on a long-term basis. Over the last nine years, Joanne has welcomed 30 children into her home with open arms, some staying only a few days, others staying much longer.

A spokesperson for the Northern Health and Social Care Trust said: “She has a natural ability to adapt to any situation and to respond in an honest, loving and empathic way that puts children and young people at ease. The young people she cares for describe her as ‘approachable, realistic and fair’.

“Her zest for life, ability to laugh, cry and not take herself too seriously has enabled Joanne to make a huge difference to the lives of teenagers, so much so that one young person she cares for has chosen to stay with her long-term, having reached the age of 18.

“Her positive energy creates a sense of fun, adventure and solace for the children in her care. Joanne is a carer who provides incredible support to each individual child she cares for.”

With an increase in the number of children and young people coming into care, the need for more foster carers is greater than ever. For more information Call HSC NI Foster Care on 0800 0720 137 or visit adoptionandfostercare.hscni.net