With a history of alcohol addiction, it was once again his coping mechanism after he was made redundant from his job. As a result of these difficulties, Joseph’s parents were struggling to cope with an energetic five-year-old.
Joseph’s school became concerned about him; he was withdrawn, his clothes were unwashed and after months of poor attendance, he stopped going to school altogether. The Local Authority social work team found that his parents were unable to cope with his care and placed him in emergency foster care.
He stayed with his first foster family for three months, but sadly, his foster mother became ill and the family were no longer able to offer Joseph a foster home.
The Local Authority team then approached Norwood because Joseph’s mother was Jewish and they had already worked closely with Norwood’s Fostering & Adoption Team. Norwood found Joseph a Jewish foster family who were happy to open their home to another Jewish child.
Joseph knew that his mother was Jewish, but he didn’t know what that meant. His new foster family taught him about being Jewish, celebrated the festivals with him and soon helped him to build a wide circle of Jewish friends. The love and care Joseph’s foster parents gave him, helped him to feel better about himself and gradually his confidence grew.
Too young to understand why he could not live with his birth parents, he understood that his foster family loved him dearly and wanted him to be a part of their family. Joseph’s foster family have now applied to adopt him.
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