Growing up in Scotland, Maggie Lister always had new people around her.
Her parents ran a bed and breakfast and their aim was to provide an open door — and open hearts — to travellers.
Lister kept those values when she immigrated to Canada at the age of 19, holding true her mission statement to positively influence the lives of children and families around her.
About 14 years ago, after seeing an advertisement in the newspaper, she linked up with B.C.’s Ministry of Children and Family Development to help teens in need of temporary foster care. At the time, Lister and her husband, Michael, hadn’t yet started their own family and had a bedroom in their home to spare.
Their first foster child was a 17-year-old boy who had been “bouncing around for a while,” the New Westminster resident remembered.
From there, the couple continued to take in teens for a month or two — or more — while learning more about foster parenting.
In 2015, they made the switch to become emergency foster caregivers. In that role, they take in children and youth in crisis at all hours — some of them severely traumatized — and look after them for a short period before they are found a permanent placement with another foster family.
Lister estimates the couple has welcomed more than 150 kids since they signed on.
And although they have three children of their own now (ages 10, eight and five), she believes her home is not only full of activity but also love.
“It feels natural and right,” she said. “It’s easy. It’s my head and my heart connected.”
Welcoming foster children into her home gives Lister a chance to make a difference in her community, she said. The kids come in sometimes late at night or after school, may be confused and emotional, “but somehow we make it work,” she said, noting she often starts by offering them a meal and some kind words.
Lorrie Landers’ start into foster caregiving also came from a desire to give back to her community.
About a dozen years ago, she and her then-husband were accepting international student home stays and they wanted to add to their family of five (the couple’s children are now 21, 23 and 24).
Today, Landers is a specialized Level 3 foster parent, meaning she cares for youth with varying degrees of developmental and emotional challenges and disorders. Currently, she has four teenage girls in her home: two 16-year-olds whose older sisters were previously in Landers’ care and 14-year-old twins, one of whom is transitioning to be a boy.
Landers said helping youth with developmental issues is a no-brainer. “For me, it’s not an option to say ‘No’ to a child,” the Maple Ridge resident said. “I had to learn to be their teacher so they could become functioning adults.”
March 1, Landers will be on a panel in Coquitlam to talk about her fostering experiences and its subsequent rewards — with the aim to recruit new foster caregivers in the Lower Mainland.
Lister, who also plans to attend the event at Douglas College, which is sponsored in part by the Ministry of Children and Family Development, said social workers try to find the best foster care matches, and rarely separate siblings.
“We get a lot of support from them,” Lister said of the provincial staff, “and we also get a lot of satisfaction knowing that we have made a difference in a child’s life.”
She added, “We keep in touch with these kids afterward and that’s the success of it. They come back to our home and they’re welcomed with open arms. It’s real-life relationships and it all started with giving them a safe place to land when they needed it.”
jcleugh@tricitynews.com
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LEARN MORE
Hear from a panel at Coquitlam’s Douglas College (Room A1470) next week about what it takes to become a foster parent.
March 1, five foster caregivers — including Lorrie Landers — will talk about their experiences from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Call or text 604-764-8098 for more information about the event, which is hosted in part of B.C.’s Ministry of Children and Family Development.
Douglas' David Lam Campus is located at 1250 Pinetree Way.
FOSTER FACTS
• As of December 2017, the number of B.C. children and youth in government care was 6,804 — down from 7,934 in March 2014.
• The need for foster caregivers is on the rise as the current number of long-term foster parents decreases with age and retirement.
• Foster care families receive basic monthly payments: $803.81 per child for kids aged 11 and under; $909.95 per child for teens aged 12 to 19.
• B.C. has a fostering hotline for caregivers: 1-800-663-9999.
• Online resources include: fosteringconnections.ca, bcfosterparents.ca and fostercaregiversbc.ca.
