AN AYR fostering agency is appealing for carers to provide new homes for children this year.

Fosterplus is rolling out a New Year campaign to find children coming into care in 2019 a home and loving family.

The agency has services in Ayr on Racecourse Road who are inviting fostering families to provide care to children in the local area. They are using social media and video to highlight the urgent need for families.

The campaign follows the story of Sophie, one of the estimated 30,000+ children who will come into care over the next year, and will need a foster family. The video shows her crying with the the caption “It won’t be a happy New Year for everyone.”

Geoff Armstrong, Service Manager for Fosterplus, commented: “The Christmas period can be a really emotional and unsettling time of year for young individuals in care, so it’s a good time to remind people how they can help a child like Sophie.

“The New Year is a perfect opportunity for individuals and families to provide a new start for so many of these children. The campaign highlights the emotional rewards a career in fostering offers.”

One individual who decided to foster was Irene Conroy, who told of her experience. She said: “When I started fostering five years ago, it wasn’t always easy. The children had some pretty challenging behavioural issues, but we soon realised that they just wanted to be loved and have people around them that they could call ‘family’.

“They saw me and my husband as role models and quickly started to call us ‘mum’ and ‘dad’. Being a foster carer is the most rewarding thing I’ve done.”

Fosterplus is part of Partnerships in Children’s Services (PICS), whose aim as a fostering provider is to ensure that those in their care lead happy, stable, active childhoods – childhoods that provide the foundations for fulfilled and productive adulthoods.

If you are interested in fostering a child this year all the information is at https://www.fosterplus.co.uk/fostering-children or contact the Ayr services on Racecourse Road.