WANTED - people with endless energy, patience and resilience are needed as foster carers.

That was the message at a recruitment drive in Festival Place, Basingstoke, organised by a team from the National Children's Homes' Wessex Community Project to coincide with Foster Care Fortnight.

It gave those interested the chance to find out about fostering and what the role involves.

Sarah Jones, a carer who attended the event, first became involved in fostering six years ago after reading about the high numbers of teenage boys who commit suicide while in custody.

"The article really upset me," said Sarah, 59. "I just thought it terrible that people so young felt such despair.

"My own children had grown up and left home, but I still felt I had something to give.

"NCH offered me the chance to attend a number of training and development courses, which gave me confidence and helped prepare me for the initial placement.

"It is a daunting prospect initially but knowing that the NCH team are on call 24 hours a day really helped. I've also been introduced to other foster carers and it's good to be able to share experiences."

There is a shortage of 10,000 foster carers across the UK, and Barbara Russell, service manager of Wessex Community Project, is keen to tackle the shortage in north Hampshire.

Ms Russell said she wanted to dispel some of the myths surrounding fostering and to highlight the fact that carers got paid for their efforts.

She said: "NCH is looking for people who have endless energy, patience, resilience and understanding to step forward and open up their lives to help vulnerable young people.

"Our current foster carers come from all walks of life and age and marital status is not important. The challenges are great but so are the personal rewards.

"The carers I've talked to say they get a wonderful sense of satisfaction at seeing a young person start to blossom and achieve," she added.

For more information about fostering, call 020 7704 7000 or visit www.nch.org.uk