“It is important to have regular contact with family when you are in care,” says Byron.

When my brother and I went into care, we were 4 and 7 and we got placed in a temporary fostering placement in Leeds until they found a foster carer, which was a couple in Hambleton.

We then moved to a foster carer in Blackpool. I was turning 7 and my brother was turning 10, and we had been together all of our lives. However, a couple of years later, I don’t think the foster carers could handle us both anymore, so, my brother was moved into the children’s home, and I stayed. This meant that I would have contact with my brother, but throughout the years our contact was often messed with.

When I was 12, I got moved from Blackpool to Preston with a couple who were foster carers for Caritas Care; then when I was fifteen, I was placed with different foster carers from Caritas Care. Thankfully, they understood the importance of regular contact for my brother and me, because the foster carers before them hadn’t. And as we both moved around, we began to lose touch with each other.

It was hard enough for us to understand why we were separated; it was harder to understand why our contact was cut. This is why I think it is really important for foster carers to know how crucial it is for children to have regular contact with their family.

As I got older, I started to look at the pros and cons of being separated because you don’t understand, therefore, you are making up your own interpretation. Maybe being separated was a good thing? It didn’t feel like that, though. Now, we see each other every couple of days as we live around the corner from each other. My brother isn’t good with people however, he is very good with computers and is good at fixing things. It is nice for me to know that now he is there; however, we never wanted to be split up in the first place.

When I got older and wanted a place of my own, we had contact arranged with my brother because I wanted to be near him. He is my family, and at the end of the day, he is my brother.

Note: Byron has currently and successfully completed his Level 3 Car mechanics course and is now looking for employment.  Please get in touch if you could offer Byron the opportunity of an interview.

To read more of Byron’s stories, click HERE

Click here to enquire about fostering with Caritas Care

Rated Outstanding by Ofsted.

Special thanks to Verve Recruitment for their support in helping us find more foster carer for more children