Inspiring Luton foster carer celebrates 15 years of transforming lives

A devoted foster carer from Luton is sharing her heartwarming story as she aims to inspire others to embark on their own fostering journey.

Luton foster carer, Sharon Barnett has opened her home and heart to more than 20 children and young people during a remarkable 15-year fostering journey, and now she is encouraging others to follow in her footsteps.

Throughout her remarkable career, she has not only provided a safe and nurturing home but has also empowered children to find their smile and their voice.

Motivated by her love for working with children, Sharon embarked on a journey that began with a profound personal loss. "After losing my mother, I reflected on my working life and felt like I wanted something more, where I could really make a difference,” she said. “I always knew that I wanted to work with children, and after a few conversations, it became clear that foster care would be perfect for me. I started off thinking that if I could just help one child, I’d be happy.”

Fostering provided a perfect opportunity for Sharon to balance a rewarding role with her responsibilities as a single parent with a young son, but she admits that the process was daunting at first. While the agency that she fosters through, Nexus Fostering, was extremely supportive from day one, Sharon says it was hard to hide her nerves at first. She said: “I was so nervous when I went through the assessment process – particularly the panel interview. But I was absolutely over the moon when they said yes!

"When I first welcomed a 13-year-old boy into my home, he wore a solemn expression that broke my heart, but I was able to give him time and listen to really understand him. At the time, he was not attending school and I ended up finding parts of Luton that I never knew existed to keep him busy!”

Sharon believes that helping children to find their voice is essential. She understands that some children may have experienced trauma or faced circumstances where their opinions and feelings were silenced. By providing a safe and supportive space, she encourages open communication and empowers children to express themselves.

She also explained the vital role that Nexus Fostering provides, offering ongoing professional training and development, and ensuring that support is on hand 24/7 if difficulties arise.

This support was particularly important when tragedy struck once again, with Sharon’s son sadly passing away in 2019. After taking a year away to grieve and heal, Sharon was offered support from Nexus to get back into the role. She was determined to carry on with the knowledge of how supportive her son was every time a new child was introduced.

After a couple of short-term placements, Sharon welcomed a remarkable young boy into her home, who experiences learning disabilities including Down’s syndrome. She says that it is her most rewarding placement yet: “He is the reason why I started fostering. He was 10 when he started living here and was completely non-verbal, but with patience over time, he’s now able to say more and more. I have to say that a shared interest in music including reggae has also helped – not a day goes by when we are not dancing! He’s been with me for two years now, and I’ll be here for as long as he needs me.”

Joanne Heathcote from Nexus Fostering added: "We are extremely grateful to Sharon for her incredible contribution over the last fifteen years. Foster carers are hidden heroes in our communities, giving their time to transform the lives of the young people that they support.

"There is no template for what a foster carer looks like - they come from every kind of background and have a variety of different life experiences, just like the children they care for. To anyone who has ever thought about fostering children, I would say that you could be the difference for one child - make the call and find out more.

"We invest in every foster carer in our community and we’re actually finding that carers new to fostering enjoy that their role can be home-based, flexible and fully supported with the opportunity to learn new skills while making a difference to the lives of children and young people.

“Our aim is to set every foster carer up for success, providing competitive allowances, full training and support so they can focus on creating a stable and loving home whilst ensuring the child is at the centre of decision-making.

"Another misconception is that to be a foster carer, you need to have previous experience working with children. This is not the case. All foster carers bring their own mix of valuable life experiences, both personal and professional. All our foster carers at Nexus Fostering receive comprehensive training and have a wide network of support available to them 24 hours a day, 365 days a week.”

For more information on Nexus Fostering, and how to become a foster carer visit www.nexusfostering.co.uk