Types of foster care

Edinburgh is hosting an increased number of trafficked and asylum-seeking young people aged 16 to 21.  The young people come from a range of countries across the Middle East and North Africa as well as Vietnam. They may speak little or no English when they arrive and may have travelled for many months before arriving here. They may have experienced: living in refugee camps, physical and sexual assault, being trafficked across Europe, living in war zones, basic needs not being met and separation from their families.  They also face uncertainty about their future life in Britain as their immigration status and right to remain are uncertain. These young people need host family foster carers who can provide safe, nurturing and loving homes to support them into independence. 

We hold information sessions for anyone who is enquiring about becoming a host family foster carer, after you have had your initial screening call.  We also have a specific preparation group for host family foster carers that takes place over 2 days.

What our carers say about being a host family foster carer... 

We are a host family that mostly offer respite rather than full time care. We were matched with a 16 year old Vietnamese boy in March 2019 who was trafficked for 2 years before being cared for in Edinburgh. He was initially quite wary and uncertain but has blossomed into an incredible young man who has become very much part of our family. In the beginning he had very little English and so we had to be creative in the ways we communicated - google translate helped a lot! We got great support from the foster care team and got duo lingual books which our boy really loved. We ourselves have grown in our appreciation and understanding of what is happening in other countries and other families across the world beyond Scotland. 

We were initially a bit worried about how this would all work out as we both work and whether we would have the capacity and the skills to manage a trafficked young person but we learned slowly and so did he and we treated him like we would treat our own children. We have been humbled by the respect, joy and fun that he has brought to our family home. Our own children have learned so much and have gained their own insights into how lucky we are to have our home and our family and friends around us. I would encourage anyone in Edinburgh to get involved with this opportunity.”