Kinship’s new ambassador Joe Fishburn meets kinship carers like the grandmother who raised him

BBC Gladiators winner Joe Fishburn paid tribute to all the ‘unsung heroes’ like the grandmother who raised him when he visited Kinship’s Newcastle support group for kinship carers.

Joe, 24, a Team GB gymnast and gymnastics coach who lives in Newcastle has become Kinship’s new Ambassador and plans to help kinship carers and their kinship children get the support and recognition they need and deserve.

Kinship carers, relatives – grandparents, aunties, uncles, siblings, and family friends, who step up to look after children in times of crisis when their parents can’t care for them, keeping them in a loving, stable and secure family. More than 141,000 children are in kinship care in England and Wales – that’s more than double the number in foster care.

Joe who won the hit BBC TV show plans to shine a light on kinship carers like his grandmother Christine, 81, who brought him up after his mum died when he was two.

Joe who arrived with flowers for all the kinship carers, said: “Becoming a Kinship Ambassador is a real privilege and a massive opportunity to help raise awareness about kinship care and all the amazing kinship carers out there like Christine who I call my mum.

“It’s been brilliant to meet kinship carers today and learn how the charity helps them by running support groups that they can come to and share advice over a cuppa. I’m sure my nan would have loved to have come to a group like this when I was young, as I can see how it’s helping to change peoples’ lives.

“Kinship care is a cause that really resonates with me and my upbringing and is very close to my heart. To me, kinship carers are our unsung heroes as they keep families together, so it’s an honour to highlight how special they are.”

Kinship carer Korreena, from Newcastle said: “It was absolutely brilliant to meet Joe today he’s such a lovely inspirational person and a great role model for so many kinship children. I know he’ll be a wonderful Ambassador for the charity especially with his first-hand experience of growing up in kinship care.”

Kinship Chief Executive, Lucy Peake said: “We’re delighted that Joe has joined forces with Kinship to help raise awareness of just how incredible kinship carers like his wonderful grandmother Christine are.

“Thousands of kinship families in our community were rooting for Joe on Gladiators, and we’re so pleased he’s chosen to use his platform from the show to support us.

“Unsung heroes like Christine step up in times of crisis to keep children within a loving and stable family instead of going into an overstretched care system.

“Joe’s first-hand experience of growing up in kinship care makes him perfectly placed to back our charity and help us get kinship families the support and recognition they deserve.”

Unlike foster carers, most kinship carers receiving little to no financial support to cover the costs of raising a child, and unlike adoptive parents, no statutory right to employment leave when they take on the care of a child. They also lack emotional and therapeutic and practical support. Kinship charity fights to get kinship carers recognition and support through its #ValueOurLove campaign

Our national peer support service supports kinships carers to set up thriving support groups in their area where they can share experiences, create a community and build resilience.