A NEW community roadshow aimed at raising awareness of fostering and encouraging more local people to support children in care is coming to two Teignbridge towns in September.

Ashburton and Buckfastleigh will be among the first communities to take part in the new ‘It Takes a Village’ campaign, which is being launched to encourage more people across Devon to consider fostering.

The campaign will begin with a special evening event at Buckfastleigh Town Hall on Tuesday, September 1, from 6.30pm to 8.30pm.

The event will bring together foster carers, fostering professionals, community members and local leaders for an informal evening focused on the need for more foster homes in local communities.

The roadshow will then travel elsewhere in Devon.

The first event has been developed in partnership with county councillor Stuart Rogers, whose work to strengthen fostering support in the local community helped inspire the wider campaign.

Councillor Rogers, who represents Ashburton and Buckfastleigh, said children benefit when they are able to maintain links with the communities they know.

‘We know that children thrive when they can stay connected to their local communities, schools, friends and support networks’, he said. ‘That’s why it’s so important that we recruit more foster carers across Devon’.

He said that, without enough local foster placements, children entering care can sometimes have to leave their schools, friends and familiar surroundings.

‘By stepping forward as a foster carer, you could help a child stay closer to the people and places that matter most to them’, he added.

Visitors to the Buckfastleigh event will be able to hear directly from local foster carers and meet members of the fostering team.

There will also be opportunities to take part in discussions and find out more about what fostering involves.

Organisers say people do not need to be considering becoming a foster carer to attend, with anyone interested in understanding more about fostering and supporting children in care welcome.

Fostering Devon says it currently needs more foster carers to help children remain connected to their local communities; increasing the number of foster homes available locally can reduce the need for children to move away from Devon.

Liz Pearson Clark, Service Manager for Fostering Devon, said the campaign was intended to encourage communities to come together to support children.

‘Fostering is one of the most rewarding ways people can make a difference to a child’s life’, she said.

‘Through our “It Takes a Village” campaign, we’re inviting communities to come together and learn more about fostering and the vital role local support networks play’.

She said more foster carers were urgently needed across Devon to help children remain close to the people, schools and communities that matter to them.

‘If you’ve ever wondered whether you could foster, we’d encourage you to come along and have a conversation’, she said. ‘You don’t need to have all the answers, and you’ll be supported every step of the way’.

For more information, visit fosteringdevon.org.uk or call 0345 155 1077.