For nearly 20 years Blind Bight couple Jan and Dennis Armstrong have been caring for local kids, opening their home and their hearts to a sibling group of three and other children during times of need.
“I will foster until I can foster no longer,” says Jan, who grew up in care herself and wanted to give children and young people a positive, loving, and stable life, something she feels lucky to have had herself.
During the pandemic, Dennis, like many others was forced into unemployment and while Jan faces serious illness herself, the couple are also caring for Dennis’ brother who is terminally ill.
“Whenever we needed more room, I just made it happen,” says Dennis, a keen handyman.
“With everything going on it’s been hard to keep up. I’ve done my best but I’m a handyman not a tradesman.”
OzChild foster care case manager, Matt Brady has been supporting the family for the past five years and has seen their house evolve over the years, as Dennis has enclosed verandas to add a room here and there, updated bathrooms and expanded the living quarters to ensure the family had room to grow.
“The family live in a modest weatherboard home that was in desperate need of a makeover,” explained Mr Brady.
“There are some obvious improvements needed, which financially the couple are not in a position to undertake.”
And so, on Saturday 7 May, this humble, unassuming couple who have given so much received a special Mother’s Day home makeover thanks to the generosity of local trades, organised by long-term supporter of OzChild, David Gibson from O’Brien Electrical Carrum Downs.
“Giving as much as they do without expecting anything in return makes Jan and Dennis very deserving recipients of this year’s makeover,” says Mr Gibson.
“The makeover is an initiative we undertake every year for a family supported by OzChild.
“For the past two years we’ve had to put this one on hold, so we are eager to get our hands dirty and dig in to make the Armstrong’s work a little lighter.”
The makeover included major electrical works by the team at O’Brien Electrical Carrum Downs, and another half dozen trades and suppliers contributed to giving the home a full face-lift with the replacement of weatherboards, driveway repairs and rubbish removal.
Fresh paint, new gutters, and the installation of water tanks to the front and rear of the house completed things outside before the team installed a new kitchen sink and a bathroom mirror inside, along with fans and improved lighting.
“The selfless commitment of Jan and Dennis blows me away. Being able to make a difference in their life through a home makeover is our way of saying thanks, for everything they have done, it really is the least we can do,” said Mr Gibson.
Across Victoria foster carers provide care for almost 1,700 children on each night of the year, and of the 10,000 children and young people in out-of-home care in Victoria nearly 7,000 of them are cared for by a relative or family friend.
For more than 30 years OzChild has been providing foster and kinship care support in Victoria. During the last year almost 1,000 children and young people were supported by OzChild carers.
“Without foster and kinship carers children and young people who cannot live at home really have nowhere to go, we must take care of those who are caring for our most vulnerable,” said OzChild Chief Executive, Dr Lisa Griffiths.
“But we can’t do it alone, we need people like David Gibson and his team of tradies to care as much as we do, to support carers so they can continue to do what they do best; care for at-risk kids.”
