CHRISTMAS is a happy time for many, but for a Mt Waverley foster care service that helps teens from families in crisis, it signals the busiest time of the year.
Waverley Emergency Adolescent Care organises foster care for adolescents usually aged between, 12 and 18,
with placements ranging in length from a night's respite to an indefinite period.
The service is calling for more foster carers to come forward ahead of an anticipated shortage of carer accommodation this Christmas.
Carer recruitment coordinator Monique Fischer said leading up to Christmas less foster carers opened their
doors, causing a shortage of available beds for adolescents needing care.
Chief executive Maureen Buck said the post-Christmas period became even busier.
"January is our busiest time because of the after effects from Christmas.
"There are expectations for everyone to be together but not everyone can do that. Some people experience chaos after Christmas because they are just not coping being with each other.
"It's a highly charged time and the cracks that have formed over the year can start to widen.''
READ the full story in the Monash Journal on Monday.
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