Montreal's English youth service in dire need of foster parents willing to take kids in

Montreal resident Lorraine Sheepwash has been a foster parent for 32 years.

"I have lived a very fulfilled life because of being a foster parent," she said.

She's currently caring for five children, and over the years she has hosted at least 80. Some stay a few days and others stay for years.

She said she develops special relationships with the children whocome into her home.

"And they all need to feel like they're in a loving environment and a safe environment," said Sheepwash.

Batshaw Youth and Family Services is hoping to find others like Sheepwash as there are currently 35 children on the waiting listand about 10 more are added to the list each week.

The Montreal-based agency provides family and rehabilitation placement services in English. In some cases, kids are brought in from across the province and from as far away as from Nunavik.

Batshaw is launching a campaign to recruit more foster parents able to care for kids from infants to 17.

Asking for help from community

Marie-Pierre Ulysse, foster care manager at Batshaw, said foster parents of all backgrounds are needed, but especially Black or Indigenous.

"If we were able to get from these two communities, where there's even more suffering, it would be the greatest gain for the children that we are serving," she said.

Ulysse said some foster parents are taking on more children than they can handle in their space at the moment. It's a temporary measure until she can find a more permanent home for the kids, she explained.

"The situation is critical," she said.

It seems the number of kids needing placement always exceeds the number of homes available, and Batshaw is always recruiting new foster parents.

It's never reached a point where she can take a break from recruiting because there are enough homes, she said, but the current situation is troubling.

"I really find there's a big pressure right now on our system," Ulysse said. "These children are all of our children and we need homes for them."

Poor treatment of Indigenous youth

In recent years, Batshaw has come under scrutiny for its treatment of Indigenous children.

In 2018, Quebec's human rights commission launched an investigation after it was revealed Inuit children were discouraged from speaking their own language while in youth protection.

A 2019 report, prepared by researchers at Concordia Universityin collaboration with the Native Women's Shelter of Montreal and other local community groupsfound that Indigenous children and their families were subjected to "racist attitudes" by Batshaw administrators.

Ulysse said the agency sees these criticisms as an opportunity to do better.

"The community has to give us their feedback so we keep improving, but they cannot close their doors on their children," she said.

As for Sheepwash, she's encouraging others to step up and help. It's worth it to open your door to these kids and be part of their lives, she said.

"You can be the person to help them and help them go on their way," she said. "There's nothing like that."