Taking a journey together - Family care supports integration
When a child or young person with a refugee background arrives in Finland without a guardian, they need more than just a roof over their head. They need security, a normal everyday life and an adult who is present. Family care that supports integration provides all this – and much more.
Family care is an alternative to a family group home. In this case, the young person is placed in a foster family where they receive care, attention and everyday skills - the skills needed to support integration in a new country. Most family care clients are 13–17 years old, just the age when a safe everyday life and reliable adults are particularly important.
“Living in a family makes it possible to form attachments and integrate into everyday Finnish life,” says Annika Front, Senior Social Worker for social services that support integration.
Family care provides tools for life
Living in a family allows the child or young person to become familiar with family life in practice: how people live their daily life, what the Finnish sense of community can mean, and the opportunities life here can offer. They can participate in ordinary life – hobbies, everyday discussions and outdoor activities.
"Everyday life in family care means normal, age-appropriate activity that is planned together. Young people receive individual support and learn to handle their own matters – skills they will need in the future,” says Riikka Otava, who has been a family carer for several years.
“This represents a step during which the child learns the tools needed for independent living. It's important to provide support without doing too much for the other person.”
Otava believes that the relationships formed with the young people will last a lifetime.
“The whole community is involved. My own family, relatives and neighbours have all welcomed these young people into their lives. It's been a beautiful process,” says Otava.
Family care enriches both parties
Family care is not a one-way process. It also expands the world of family carers.
“The chance to become familiar with a different cultural background, life story and customs also enriches the family’s everyday life. This is why we try to coach a very diverse range of families as family carers,” says Front.
Otava thinks that people in Finland may not always understand how good things are here. She says that the work has greatly increased her sense of gratitude and perspective.
“The young people often arrive shy and confused, but as time passes they learn the language, attend school and begin to thrive,” says Otava
A strong support network for family carers
Otava feels that being a family carer requires an open mind, flexibility and confidence that everyday life will eventually settle into a routine. However, professionals from the wellbeing services county provide support for everyday life.
“We have strong support networks in the wellbeing services county. I receive training, work guidance and recreational days. I'm not alone,” says a grateful Otava.
“Family carers consider our regular meetings to be a very important form of support. The goal of this support is to safeguard the child’s wellbeing and ensure that the family carer can cope,” says Front.
The wellbeing services county pays the family carer an allowance and compensation for expenses related to their work.
Would you like to be part of this story?
Family care that supports integration can be a turning point – for the child and the family. It is an opportunity to make everyday life meaningful.
Contact and ask for more information from social workers supporting family care for integration
040 636 8673 and 040 646 6167.
An ordinary family can be exceptionally important!
Read more: Become a Foster Family for an Unaccompanied Minor — Offer Safety and a Brighter Future