Ronan's story
Ronan joined our foster care family in 2018.
"I first thought about fostering after watching a programme on BBC2. Peter Jones from Dragons Den interviewed John Timpson, of Timpson’s shoes. As well as having four children of his own, he adopted two and fostered over 90 children.
I thought it was amazing.
After that whenever I saw fostering posters I was moved by them. My wife and I discussed it and eventually decided to look into it.
The things that were important to us were the support available, the agency’s reputation and reviews from other foster carers.
We decided to foster with the Together Trust because they are a charity.
When we met the team we felt comfortable from the outset and that was important to us.
"The process of becoming a foster carer was lengthy, but we knew it was important, and we felt fully informed throughout. It was repetitive in some places, we were going over the same things, but we knew it was required.
And then we were approved and our first young person was placed with us.
There were a few challenges at first - getting used to having someone new in the house, arranging work around their college schedule, being aware of what you say. Mostly just getting used to dealing with a teenager again!
But there were so many highlights too.
You get to invest time, love and experience in a young person and give them hope for the future - just knowing that you’re helping someone and making them feel safe was enough.
You get to invest time, love and experience in a young person and give them hope for the future
"I would tell anyone else thinking about becoming a foster carer to seriously consider it - it’s rewarding in so many ways. You could change someone’s life forever and give them opportunities that they would never have otherwise.
Don’t doubt yourself.
If you have the heart to do it then you’re on the right track."