MICHELLE and Trevor Joyce have cared for more than 30 foster children over the past 15 years, and they also have a support role for foster carers in the Ulladulla region.
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“I guess I have a bit of a calling, I believe I have a gift to offer children in foster care,” Michelle said.
“My wings will always be open to these baby birds.
“Both of our families had fostered children when we were growing up and we felt we had the love and time and room in our lives to expand our family.”
The couple has three sons, “and my youngest son has had foster siblings since he has been in preschool,” Michelle explained.
“My boys are brilliant role models and they value the way our family operates, how we make time talk and listen to each other. They know they are lucky.”
Being a foster carer was open to all sorts of people, Michelle said, with the main prerequisite “being a caring person with an open mind and a relaxed approach to life,” Michelle said.
“To be a long term foster carer you need to have time. If you are a couple, one of you needs to be available during the day. We’ve had phases when children have only attended school for two hours a day. It depends on the child and the situation. Of course respite care is an option for people in full time work,” she said.
“My wings will always be open to these baby birds."
- Michelle Joyce
“I consider my role as a foster carer to be my job. I feel responsible and am accountable for everything I do. What the kids give back is absolutely amazing, it might take years but the rewards are there.
“I feel so proud when I see them achieving and succeeding in life.
“My 18-year-old foster daughter has had a tricky 11 years, but I have been passionate about where I want her to go in life, and help her pick herself up every time she falls,” Michelle said.
“My aim is to help our foster children to be as independent from us as they possibly can by the time they are 18 years old.
“Yes they need to be loved and cherished, but we also teach them to be responsible for their actions, to care for each other.”
Michelle also has a role as local coordinator for Connecting Carers.
“My role is to empower foster carers, especially in their early days of becoming a foster carer. It is uncomfortable in the early days of a caring role if a carer can’t speak with their caseworkers comfortably,” she said.
“Often foster carers can feel like they are on their own and that their caseworker and the foster care agency are on one team and that they are on another. I’m a nurse by training and have a good listening ear. I’ve been able to help other carers see situations from a different perspective and can see them relax once they’ve had an opportunity to talk things through,” she said.
“I started an informal support group about 11 years ago. It is really a few caring friends meeting every Thursday for lunch. Anybody is welcome, it is important to meet with people who you can share with who are non-judgmental and who won’t suggest we just ‘give a child back’,” Michelle said.
“Trevor also has an unofficial role as an ‘on-call’ advisor. If a carer is uncertain of how to handle a situation, they often ask Trevor to come to their home,” she said.
William Campbell Foundation needs more foster carers for children aged up to 18.
A free information session will be held in the Dunn Lewis Centre, 141 St Vincent Street, Ulladulla, from 5 to 6pm on Thursday February 27. To register your interest contact 1300 130 585.
For more information about William Campbell Foundation, please visit www.wcfoundation.org.au
