With a shortage of foster carers in the region, a foster mum has spoken of the joy that has come with opening her home to those in need.
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Fiona Tollis started her journey as a foster carer after one of her children brought home a pamphlet from school.
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Since then Fiona has fostered 18 children over ten years and has even taken the next step and adopted.
"It's really important to me to offer a safe and loving family," she said.
"I love having children as part of my world.
"They come to love and trust the people around them as they grow to be the best they can be.
For the loving mother it's vital to develop a strong relationship with the child's biological family.
"Children need to know their identity, where they've come from, and their place in the world," she said.
"The parents still want to see their children reach milestones."
Despite loving what she does, Fiona faces daily challenges much like any other parent.
"At some point trauma is going to show. Finding a way to nurture through that with support from a foster care agency is important," she said.
"Like any parent you get tired."
She urged people to consider becoming a foster carer if "within themselves they have a passion for caring for kids".
"There is a process. Agencies are really good at matching up kids to families.
"Giving children that sense of family is what it's all about."
CareSouth executive officer Tracy Mayo said the organisation was in need of more carers.
CareSouth is a not for profit company that pairs children with families and supports carers throughout the Southern Highlands, Southern Tablelands, Queanbeyan and the ACT.
Ms Mayo said it was easy to place young children and babies but difficult to find homes for older kids.
"Kid's behaviours start to become more challenging when they get older," she said.
The organisation is open to all types of carers including: single people, same sex couples and full time workers. If becoming a full time carer is too much, the organisation is also looking for short term and relief carers.
For Ms Mayo the most important requirement was to have time to invest into children.
"You need to have a nurturing personality all the time and be consistent," she said.
Foster carers do not have to do it alone. A team of highly skilled practitioners and support people are on hand at all times.
Ms Mayo said there were currently 44,906 children in foster care nationally with 16,000 in NSW. To cover demand they are in need of 350 foster carers across the state.
For the executive officer finding carers this year has been challenging due to COVID-19. Inquires slowed down in March from an average of 43 per month to just seven.
My Mayo urged people to pick up the phone and call if they "wanted to make a difference in a child or young person's life".
"Foster care can really make a difference between a kid finishing school and getting a job or not," she said.
"If we have carers in Goulburn we can keep kids in the same school and sports teams.
"Moving out of the region can be really devastating for kids."
Visit www.caresouth.org.au for more information.
