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Apex Fostering, a London-based fostering agency, has launched a new foster care service, Apex Q, aimed at matching LGBTQ+ young people with supportive carers and families in the South East of England. The agency plans to encourage more LGBTQ+ foster carers, provide training, and create more placements for queer children who are "disproportionately represented" in the care system, according to Apex Fostering. The foster care agency helps prospective carers through a process of assessments and checks to be matched with a child, whether as a family or a single person.
Apex Fostering, which covers north and east London as well as several southern counties, including Hertfordshire, Essex, and Cambridgeshire, launched in 2021 and has already placed more than 60 young people with foster families, according to the agency. The service is designed to provide a supportive environment for LGBTQ+ children, who often make up the majority of the homeless population under the age of 18, according to Apex. Homelessness charity Crisis reports that 77% of LGBTQ+ young people gave "family rejection, abuse, or being asked to leave home" as a cause of their homelessness.
Sali Walker, Apex Fostering's CEO, who grew up in care as a lesbian, said the agency wants "to make sure that every queer young person has a home where they feel safe and loved, where they can be supported to become their amazing, wonderful self." She added that being a foster carer is an "amazing thing" that can help protect the next generation and help them flourish.
The foster care agency's efforts have been met with support from the LGBTQ+ community. Ricardo and Bradleigh, a gay couple from Essex who recently became foster parents, told PinkNews that despite their initial fears of judgment over being LGBTQ+ parents, fostering children has been a rewarding journey. Ricardo emphasized that "a home is a home" and that "it doesn’t matter if you’re a man and a man, a boy and a girl." He added that what matters is that children need stability, care, and routine, which can be provided by foster parents regardless of their sexual orientation.