For local Shopping Centre Manager Will, the journey for him and his partner, Karl, to become foster carers was challenging but it has been the most rewarding experience of their lives.
In whatever form they take and in all their marvellous diversity, families need nurturing, respect, and support.
Will shared his story of becoming a parent and changing his career to find a better workplace support network that allows him to balance the needs of work and family.
“Losing my dad to leukaemia in 2018 was really tough and it made me question my career, the life balance I wasn’t getting and what was really important to me. My Dad left an amazing legacy and I was left questioning mine, I felt that my life needed a greater purpose and I had so much to give as a Dad.
Karl and I have been together for ten years and we always wanted to have children together but being a same sex couple, we thought it would never happen.
During a holiday in Tasmania at the start of 2019, Karl and I started to discuss the option of becoming foster carers and this was the beginning of our unexpected journey to being the family we are today.
We chose to foster with Key Assets Australia, who supported same sex couples to become foster carers. For the next twelve months we went through the complicated and at times difficult process of completing all the necessary documentation, interviews and training on how to parent children who can have multiple physical and/or mental health issues or who have suffered abuse or other traumatic circumstances.
There is little notice given of when a child will be placed with you and a month after starting my new role, we had a call asking us if we would take in two children, Amy, 11 years old, and Tyler, 7 years old, on a long-term basis.
We said yes to the opportunity of a long-term placement and we began planning and preparing to ensure the children’s transition to us was smooth and that they had a connection with us.
The week before the children arrived, we received another call from our social worker explaining that the children’s biological mum had another six-month-old baby boy called Noah and asked if we would take him to keep all the siblings together. Of course, we agreed and overnight we went from just the two of us to being a family of five — our dream had come true.
Chaos ensued as we moved to a bigger house, bought a pram and car seat, set up the nursery and stocked up on all the things a family of five needs — it was so exciting but overwhelming at the same time.
It’s been over three years now and we have three beautiful children who have changed our life for the better. We are in the process of applying for guardianship of the children to give them a forever home and I’m so lucky to work with a supportive agency like Key Assets Australia who support my family and the LGBTIQ+ community.
Being a parent is the hardest thing I’ve ever done but it’s also the most rewarding. Key Assets has made this journey so much easier for me and my family and continues to support my journey of being a father.”
To learn more about how you can make a difference and become a foster carer, visit www.canifoster.com.au or contact Key Assets on 1800 932 273