It’s our job to build homes of quality but this week we’re turning our hand to building awareness of the people who open their homes and hearts for children across the motu in need of foster care.
It’s a cause close to our hearts as Mike himself is a foster child. Here’s his story:
For the first 15 months of his childhood Mike Smith was a little boy from Glen Innes waiting to find his forever family. Thirty-six years on, he’s a proud [biological] father of two and ready to reflect on his life as a foster child.
“I don’t remember exactly when I learned I was a foster child,” says Mike – a Kohimarama local – who refers to his foster parents, Alistair and Linda Smith, as Mum and Dad.
“I know my parents have always been open about it and have always had a good relationship with my birth mother. I don’t know my birth father, he’s not on my birth certificate.”
Through his first year, in 1986, Mike spent sporadic time with his birth mother and was cared for in three foster homes before Alistair and Linda took him in. Alistair recalls the “short and brutal” handover of a young Mike who was “becoming a handful” for the previous foster carers. Being so young, Mike doesn’t remember any of this. He can only recall growing up “very much a part of my family”.
While the first few months were hard, Linda says Mike became happier and more confident as he became more secure in his home alongside his two foster sisters. The Smiths were anxious through Mike’s teenage years, convinced the trauma from his first year would play out in some way but it never did. “We never gave up on him because we believed this was his home and we tried to do our best. All of our family accepted him,” Linda says.
Mike has never considered how his life might have been without foster care.
“I’m just grateful that my birth mother recognised giving me up was best for me, and feel very lucky to have such a loving and supportive family.
“I’ve done all right. Mum and Dad have given me so much and there’s no way I could be where I am without them.”
Today, Mike carries this sense of security, love and support in the way he runs Woodsmith.
“We’re a team of nine and I want everyone to feel like they’re part of a family. There are no egos, just support and love for what we do and each other,” says Mike.
This week is Foster Care Awareness Week, where charity Caring Families Aotearoa celebrates the amazing work of foster caregivers. Mike is sharing his story to raise awareness of foster care and is asking his connections in the industry and community to join him in donating to Caring Families.
The charity provides encouragement, professional training and support so foster and whānau caregivers can do their best for vulnerable children, helping them to prosper and learn to love and trust again.
Mike’s message is simple. “I wish more people knew about foster care and were open to it.”
