New foster carers are being sought from the borough's black communities as part of Black History Month.

Hounslow Council's Family Placement Service and local foster carers will be on hand with information about fostering at the Treaty Centre, Hounslow, on Saturday October 21.

Fostering is about caring for a child when their own family are not able to and it enables you to share your life and home with a child or young person and make a real and lasting difference to their lives.

Claudelle Buckley has been a foster carer for Hounslow for the past year.

She said: "This is something I had always been interested in, based on my own experiences.

"In Jamaica my mum always liked to have the house full of children and the local kids would always come and see her if they had any problems. She wasn't a foster carer; she was just someone who liked to help children."

Mrs Buckley felt she still had something to offer having looked after her own children and had the confidence to offer to foster older children.

She added: "I have only fostered two young people so far, the first one is now back with his mum and is doing well and keeps in touch. The second one is staying with me until she is 18 and both of them have been great fun to be with.

"It is good to hear from school when the children do well and see they are happy with their foster placement it gives you a great deal of satisfaction.

"Everybody has got something to give. You don't just give a child a space in your house - you also give them space in your heart.

"I originally got involved in fostering to help a child, but the rewards I have got from it are way beyond what I expected."

Mrs Buckley works as a laboratory technician at a school in Hammersmith and also as a voluntary worker with the Hounslow Afro Caribbean Society and had experience of young black people through this work.

She feels it is important for black children to be fostered by black foster parents, not just for reasons of culture, but also to maintain a positive sense of identity and self worth.

She continued: "I would advise anyone who is thinking about fostering to do it, as you are making a positive contribution to your community. You need to have self belief as most people have something to offer.

"You are not just there to supply physical space, but personal space as well, and be willing to act as a listening ear."

If you would like to talk to Claudelle, or another foster carer about what it takes to help a child, come along to the Treaty Centre in Hounslow on Saturday 21 October where the family placement service will have an information stand.

For more information about fostering in the borough you can call the Family Placement Service free on 0800 731 8558.

There is also a video about fostering available online at hounslow.gov.uk, where you can also apply to become a foster carer.