The initiative comes from the Family Placement Service, which has given each bear a name and attached a short backstory to them, inspired by true stories of children, telling how fostering helped them.
‘It’s just a bit of fun,’ said Family Placement Service senior supervising social worker Vicki Tennant.
‘It’s a free fun activity for families and children and anyone else who wants to join in over the half-term, while also raising awareness of the amazing job foster carers do and the need for more carers on-island.’
The need for more people to become foster carers is following the trend in the UK, she said, with people citing the cost-of-living as well as uncertainty as to whether or not they could do it as reasons for not coming forward.
‘It’s about seeing whether you’ve got the capacity and finding a way that works for you,’ she said.
Currently there are 19 fostering households looking after 24 children in the island. The number of children who would benefit from a foster home is ever-changing, she said.
‘We could get a phone call tomorrow for a sibling group of three, but then a family member or friend is able to step forward and look after them.’
Children can stay for anything from one night up to when they turn 18.
‘It’s entirely dependent on what’s going on for that young person,’ said Mrs Tennant.
‘The ideal will always be for them to stay with friends and family, or to do a rehabilitation home [then] back to friends and family. But when that’s not possible, then long-term fostering is needed.’
Families who want to take part in the bear hunt can download the clues from the Guernsey Foster Care and Adoption page on Facebook, and if they like, they can share the ones they’ve found on that page. The clue sheets can also be collected from Beau Sejour, the Guille-Alles Library and Mim’s Kiosk at Cobo.
The bears will be out for discovery between Saturday 24 October and Sunday 1 November.
n Anyone interested in fostering or other placement services can get in touch at guernseyfostercare.com, phone 01481 223182 or email familyplacementservice@gov.gg. People can also get in touch if they are interested in the Family Placement Service visiting their workplace to find out more about the Fostering Friendly Employment Scheme or fostering in general.
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