Allison Hillier opened up her spare rooms to provide safety and sanctuary for Ryan and Olivia. Now, the pair credit foster care for transforming their lives.

Orange Grove Fostercare, a local fostering agency, is encouraging those with a spare room to open their homes and hearts to children in care who need love and stability through its new campaign.

The local agency which supports families and children in Mid Sussex has shared the lived experience of siblings Ryan and Olivia who have grown up with their foster mum Allison, and now aged 18 and 19 credit foster care with transforming their lives.

Ryan has now taken on Allison’s surname as his own.

Ryan and Olivia have grown up with foster mum Allison (Image: contributed)

placeholder image — Ryan and Olivia have grown up with foster mum Allison (Image: contributed)

In the video, Ryan and Olivia talk about their experiences growing up, what it was like coming into care for the first time and how their bedrooms provided safety and sanctuary after leaving a life which was neglectful.

The pair’s foster mum Allison Hillier, 59, is a former police officer and has been fostering for 11 years, she said: “After my daughter left home, I had two spare bedrooms, I was suddenly living on my own and the house felt very bare. It was just me and my dog.

“A friend of mine suggested I’d make a good foster parent, she really sold me on it by saying it’s basically all about helping children in need, giving them a home, giving them something to look forward to and giving them love. I thought I had lots of that and that’s why I did it.

"I didn’t realise that a spare room could be such an important thing in my life or how poignant it could be to children in need to give them a place of safety, letting them feel safe and loved and not scared anymore.” Ryan and Olivia were seven and six when they came into care for the first time and quickly realised that life in their new home was quite different to what they were used to because their new bedroom had a wardrobe, curtains and there were sheets on the bed.

Orange Grove foster mum Allison didn't realise the difference fostering would make to the children in her care (Image: contributed)

Orange Grove’s manager in process of registration in West Sussex, Karen Murdoch, said: "The simplest things that so many of us might take for granted can make the biggest difference to a young person coming into care. Whether that’s a hot meal, access to education, or a bedroom that’s their very own safe space.

“We’re so proud of Ryan and Olivia for sharing their experiences to raise awareness about the importance of foster care and the difference a spare room can make just like it did for them 10 years ago.”

Ryan and Olivia are now planning the next stage of their lives while being in a ‘staying put’ arrangement which is where children and young people in care remain with their foster parents after turning 18, giving them the opportunity to better prepare for independence. The teens found a life-long home through foster care with Orange Grove, both having had only one foster home and inspired by Allison are both pursuing careers in health and social care and public services to help other vulnerable people.

It is estimated there are around 28 million empty rooms in the UK, which is enough room to house the UK’s total number of children in care 329 times over.

For more information on turning your spare room into a life-changing opportunity for a child in foster care with Ofsted Outstanding Orange Grove, visit https://www.orangegrovefostercare.co.uk/regions/west-sussex/ or call 0800 369 8513.