Western Australian of the Year Award: Finalist Lorraine Lekias brings hope to lives of foster kids

A Perth woman whose boundless love for the children in her care inspired her to start a charity from her living room believes everyone can do their bit to foster hope and joy for kids in need.

The sight of vulnerable children arriving for a foster care placement with only a few belongings stuffed in a plastic bag broke Lorraine Lekias’ heart.

So she started Fostering Hope Australia, which gathers new and donated clothing, nappies, bottles, cots and other items and provides them to children and families.

“Having been foster carers at that time for about 20 years, and having many children arrive to us — and they would come with nothing, a few belongings, nothing of their own — we realized that there was a huge need to help families who were having children arrive on their doorsteps, literally in the clothes that they were wearing and nothing else,” Ms Lekias said.

“It’s grown exponentially — it’s huge. It’s gone from when we started in our home, and we were supporting friends, and then friends of friends. And then we went on to become an organised, registered charity, and it’s just grown beyond our wildest imagination.

“I think we have 18,000 community members on our Facebook page, and over 1100 families that we support on our foster carer page.”

Ms Lekias, who still has four foster children at home aged from six to 17, said she was “really stunned, but deeply honoured” to be selected as a finalist for the Alcoa Community Award in the Western Australian of the Year Awards.

Being named a finalist was not about recognition for her as a person, she said, but for a whole community of carers, children and volunteers.

At a time when many families are struggling financially, even with two parents working, Ms Lekias said foster carers were increasingly harder to find.

“It’s difficult to be able to open your hearts and homes to other children, but that’s where we like to bring in the donating, volunteering — that’s all playing a role,” she said.

“I believe you don’t need to have a child in your home to be a foster carer. You can support a fostering family, and that’s foster caring.”

Fostering Hope, which now operates from purpose-built premises supported by Telethon, provides a “store”, where foster carers or grandparent carers can select clothes, toys, books, car seats or prams at no cost.

Not content to stop at one program, Ms Lekias also founded Fostering Joy, to provide kids with picnics, movie days, a car rally and annual Christmas events.

“We realised that ‘fostering hope’ was a wonderful thing, but to ‘foster joy’ is what brings the laughter, the light and a sense of normality into the children’s lives,” she said.

A third program, Fostering Journey, provides children with their own new suitcase or sports bag to keep.

The two other finalists for the Alcoa Community Award are Wheelchairs for Kids Australia founder Brother Olly Pickett and M’Liss Henry, who founded Claremont Therapeutic Riding Centre to support people with disabilities.

There are 21 finalists across seven categories, with the winners of each category and overall winner to be announced at the Western Australian of the Year Awards on Thursday, May 29 at Crown Perth.