Julie's story

After 20 years in the police force, I was ‘living the dream’ on my acreage - just me and my horses. I can sit and watch them all day. It’s really beautiful out here, idyllic. That’s what made me think about foster care.

As a police officer, I’d met many kids who needed help, care and a safe place to call home. I always thought about those kids. I live on 200 acres with horses and as a child I would have loved this sort of lifestyle. This lead me to call an agency and learn about foster caring.

When I started foster caring I thought that I’d only ever be capable of respite care. I never thought I had the skills to look after a child full time. I enjoyed being on my own and I had been single for a long time. But it was just the right time for me.

Fast forward to one Christmas with my first foster child, she was 15 and a half and was a good kid who just had a rough start in life. She’d been in foster care since the age of four.

She loved staying here, being outdoors with the horses and riding school. It worked out really well for both of us.

She’s now 18 and off exploring the world like many young people her age do. She calls me ‘Mum’ and before she left I get a phone call from her, ‘Mum’ she says ‘I’ve got this’ and off she went. She’s visiting England and Scotland at the moment. It's so different to look at her now. When I first met her, she was a young and timid teenager in need of a home and now she’s got enough self-confidence to plan and book her own trip overseas.

I’m so proud of her.

After she flew the nest, I told my case workers: “Bring on the next one!” I now have a second foster child, another girl that I care for.

It’s been an extremely rewarding experience for me to share my life with these two girls and watch them thrive.

There are some really good kids out there who just need the opportunity to prosper. I tell my girls ‘I know you won’t disappoint me. I trust you 100 per cent’. And they don’t disappoint. I tell the kids ‘you can do this’. That’s massive for them to hear this.

It’s the solidness of the carer that counts with these kids.

Being a foster carer is the main focus in my life now. I’ll be doing this for as long as I can.