For many people, foster care is something they see from a distance. They may think about doing it one day, but assume they are too busy, not qualified, or not in the right stage of life. For one Melbourne teacher, those doubts were familiar too. Yet 5 years later, foster care has become one of the most meaningful parts of her life.
A secondary teacher with 20 years’ experience, Mardi has worked in state schools, international boarding schools overseas and university student ministry, before taking up her current role at St Andrews Christian College in Wantirna, Victoria. She teaches maths and science, and also has the pastoral oversight of a homeroom class.
‘I love working with teenagers,’ she says. ‘Teaching is a people job.’
She thrives on the variety that school life offers, from managing classrooms to leading camps and stage-managing school productions. But in 2021, another path began to open.
Inspired to take a new direction
After watching the film Instant Family and listening to a podcast about fostering, the idea would not leave Mardi’s mind. Initially, she dismissed it. She was single and worked full time, and assumed foster care was not realistic. But the thought persisted.
‘I realised I had the capacity to provide for and love a child,’ she says. ‘I wasn’t so focussed on climbing a career ladder and I had something to give.’
Mardi became a foster carer with MacKillop Family Services, starting with short-term care, offering short stays for children and young people who needed somewhere safe for a weekend or a break.
Since then, she has cared for 10 children and young people, some for only a weekend, others for several months. Today, she provides long-term care for a 13-year-old boy who has lived with her for more than 2 years.
Wanting to care for teenagers was a deliberate choice. As an experienced teacher, Mardi knew that adolescents suited both her skillset and lifestyle. She also understood her own limits.
‘I know what I’m able to provide,’ she says. ‘The MacKillop team are very respectful of what works for me as a single person.’
Settling into routine
What she does provide is consistency, warmth and the kind of everyday family life many young people long for. Time together might involve video games, baking, Lego, board games with neighbours, or simple meals followed by a walk in the bush. Family visits to a cousin’s farm have included chopping wood, building campfires and spending time outdoors. They have also attended family camps alongside other foster families.
‘You work around each other’s interests and schedules,’ she says. ‘You become family.’
For Mardi, foster care is also closely tied to her personal values and beliefs.
‘My goal isn’t a high-paying job or a big house. There are other things more important to me.’
She describes fostering as a practical way to use the blessings in her own life to benefit others. It has also expanded her empathy and awareness of the hardship many children face.
‘There is a lot of brokenness in the world,’ she says. ‘This has made me more compassionate and more aware of how fortunate I’ve been.’
Providing safety for kids to grow and succeed
Like many carers, one of the hardest aspects can be the uncertainty of reunification and the grief that sometimes comes with saying goodbye. Yet she is clear that the emotional risk is worth it.
‘People say they couldn’t give a child back,’ she says. ‘But if you weren’t there to provide family and safety for that time, how much worse would their life be?’
Mardi has spoken of her own experience in MacKillop’s podcast series, Preparing Our Hearts: A Foster Care Journey, where experienced foster carers give advice to others on how to deal with the feelings that inevitably come with a placement ending.
Her message to others, especially teachers or people with experience working with kids, is simple: consider taking the next step.
‘Teachers already know how to help children feel safe and comfortable,’ she says. ‘We have instincts and skills that transfer so well.’
And for anyone wondering if they could make a difference, she offers this challenge:
‘If you have room in your house and capacity to love someone else, please do it.’
Find out more about foster care at www.mackillop.org.au/fostercare
