Foster carer John O'Neill wins 1995 Gwyn Lamb Award

25/10/95

A widower who lives alone has won this year's Gwyn Lamb Award for his contribution to the foster care of teenagers.

He is Mr John O'Neill, of Greenwood, who has provided foster care for 27 young males aged 12 to 17 since he started working with the Anglicare Teenshare program in 1989.

Presenting the award on behalf of the Foster Carers' Association, Family and Children's Services Minister Roger Nicholls said that the selection committee had found in Mr O'Neill many of the skills required by foster carers, particularly those fostering teenagers.

He was non-judgemental and understanding, but also able to say 'no' to young people if their requests were inappropriate.

He had cared for boys with many kinds of difficulties, including those who were developmentally delayed, those who had experienced maltreatment, and those who had abused other children.

He had supported them in moving to independent accommodation and into family re-unification.

Many young men stayed in contact with him after leaving his care, and parents found him accepting and approachable.

He was highly regarded by Family and Children's Services and by the Anglicare Teenshare program, which received State Government funding of $190,000 a year to help it to deliver high quality emergency, medium-term, and long-term foster care for young people.

Mr Nicholls said the total of 22 nominations for the award was almost double the number in previous years.

He was delighted by the increase because each nomination represented someone in the community saying 'thank you' to the nominated person.

This year's award had called attention to the special gifts required by people providing foster care for teenagers.

"In particular, they require great personal integrity, a wholeness in themselves which becomes the stabilising influence which enables a teenager going through a difficult time to begin to believe in his or her own integrity - an essential ingredient for full integration into adult and community life," Mr Nicholls said.

Media contact: Hugh Ryan 221 5468