PEOPLE in Hillingdon who can provide emergency short-term foster care to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are being urged to come forward.

The borough needs more carers to offer this forms= of short-term care and is providing additional financial and practical support for suitable candidates.

As the name suggests, emergency foster carers need to be available at short notice, at unpredictable times of the day or night, to look after children for up to seven days.

They must be easily contactable around the clock and be just as comfortable looking after a baby as they are supporting a teenager.

Emergency carers receive a weekly allowance of £377.24 to £447.74 per week, depending on the age of the child.

They also receive a generous weekly retainer when they do not have a child placed with them.

Additional funding is provided to buy clothing, small items of furniture or any other reasonable set-up costs for the child.  

Typically aged 12 and above, the children will be completely alone without the protection of their birth parents or family. They are also likely to have very few or no personal belongings, little or no English and they won’t be in education.  

Diós Huynh arrived in the UK aged 15 as a lone refugee escaping imprisonment in Vietnam. He arrived at Heathrow Airport and was taken in by a Hillingdon foster carer. 

He said: “At first I was really confused. It felt strange and it was hard to trust anyone. But when I arrived the family introduced themselves and welcomed me.

“They gave me space to get comfortable but invited me to eat with them, and one of their children asked if I wanted to play FIFA, so we played. I was made part of the family.”

Diós spoke no English when he arrived, but quickly picked up the language from his foster family, classes and school friends. 

Now 21, he said: “These children are young, they are lost and need someone to guide and help them to start their future and develop their career.” 

He is working and studying hard and hopes one day to realise his dream of becoming an accountant.
Anyone interested in providing emergency foster care or a safe haven should visit www.Hillingdon.gov/fostering to register their interest.

A member of the fostering team will get in touch within two days to provide more information.