Pride Month: Creating Homes Where Every Young Person Can Belong
Pride Month is a time to celebrate identity, visibility, courage and love. At Three Circles Fostering, it is also a time to reflect on what inclusion really means in the lives of children and young people in care.
For us, inclusion has never been a slogan. It is not something we bring out once a year, and it is not a box to tick. It is part of the way we think about fostering, the way we support carers, and the way we believe children should be cared for: with respect, curiosity, compassion and acceptance.
Every child deserves to feel safe. Every child deserves to feel seen. Every child deserves to know that who they are will not make them less loved, less valued or less welcome.
That belief sits at the heart of Three Circles.
A legacy we are proud of
Our work around LGBTQ+ inclusion has deep roots. Through the legacy of LGBT Youth in Care, we helped create conversations, resources and learning that challenged the care sector to think more deeply about the experiences of LGBTQ+ children and young people.
That work mattered then, and it still matters now.
It is about asking better questions.
It is about noticing who might be unseen.
It is about challenging assumptions.
It is about making sure care really means care for every child.
Inclusion starts in the everyday
For LGBTQ+ young people in care, acceptance can make a profound difference. But inclusion is not always about grand gestures. Often, it is found in the everyday moments.
It is listening without judgement.
It is not assuming who they will grow up to love.
It is challenging language that dismisses or stereotypes.
It is making sure books, conversations, celebrations and role models reflect different kinds of people and families.
It is creating a home where a child can be out and be themselves.
Foster carers do not need to have every answer before they begin. What matters is the willingness to learn, to be open, and to put the young person’s emotional safety at the centre.
At Three Circles, we believe carers should never feel they are doing this alone. Our role is to stand beside our carers, to support them through the realities of fostering, and to help them provide the kind of care that is thoughtful, inclusive and child-centred.
Our ethos: care that sees the whole child
Children and young people come into care with different stories, strengths, fears, hopes and identities. Fostering means seeing the whole child — not just their needs on paper, but their personality, culture, relationships, identity and potential.
Equity and inclusion are not add-ons to good care. They are part of good care.
That means recognising that some children may have experienced rejection, discrimination or silence around who they are. It means understanding that identity can be complex, especially when a young person has already had to cope with change, uncertainty or loss. It means creating homes where young people are not expected to fit into narrow ideas of who they should be.
At Three Circles, we want children to feel that they matter exactly as they are.
We also want foster carers to feel that they matter. We welcome carers from all walks of life, including LGBTQ+ carers, single carers, couples, families, and people with different experiences, cultures and backgrounds. What unites our carers is not one type of household — it is the ability to offer warmth, stability, patience and commitment.
Pride, fostering and belonging
Pride Month reminds us that belonging is powerful.
For a young person in care, belonging might mean having someone turn up for them consistently. It might mean being asked what they need, rather than having assumptions made. It might mean being able to talk about identity, friendships, relationships or fears without worrying that love and acceptance will be withdrawn.
It might simply mean hearing: “You are safe here.”
That is the kind of fostering community we are committed to building.
We are proud of the legacy of LGBT Youth in Care because it reflects something central to Three Circles: we do this work not because we have to, but because it is important.
It is important that LGBTQ+ young people in care are protected, affirmed and celebrated.
It is important that carers feel confident to offer inclusive care.
It is important that fostering agencies lead with values, not just processes.
It is important that children know they are not too complicated, too different or too much to be loved.
Could you foster with Three Circles?
Local LGBTQ+ football group we sponsor - Manchester Laces
This Pride Month, we are looking for people who share our belief that every child deserves a safe and accepting home.
You do not need to be perfect to foster. You do not need to know everything. You do need compassion, resilience, openness and the ability to offer a child stability through both the ordinary days and the difficult ones.
If you believe in inclusion, if you can offer patience and care, and if you want to make a difference in a young person’s life, we would love to hear from you.
Fostering is not always easy, but it can be life-changing — for children, for carers, and for whole communities.
At Three Circles Fostering, we believe every young person deserves to belong.
This Pride Month, perhaps you could be part of making that possible.
Contact Three Circles Fostering to find out more about becoming a foster carer.