Hackney People
Ermis Alvis
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For more than 30 years Ermis Alvis has been a foster carer in Hackney, and she is still as enthusiastic as ever about the support she offers young people. Ermis, 61, has been involved with local care services almost since she first arrived in the UK from St. Vincent, in the Caribbean, as a young woman in 1963. Initially working as a special needs assistant and childminder in Hackney during the early 1970s, she became a foster carer in September 1978. Her parents, who settled in Hackney with their eight children, were among the first black foster carers in the borough. |
Ermis and her siblings were all assessed as part of their parent’s roles, and helped out. “Then a social worker encouraged me to become a foster carer,” she said. For Ermis, this was a natural progression and the start of a commitment that has spanned three decades. Over the years, and with support from her husband of nearly 40 years, Alfonzo, a retired furniture polisher, Ermis has fostered many children ranging in ages from babies to teenagers.
Her first charge was a child with special needs for three months, followed by a toddler for two years who, now, at the age of 34, is still in contact with her.
In 1986, Ermis became a full-time carer, and in 1990 an ‘out of hours’ carer, taking children overnight, at the weekend, on Bank Holidays, or until they are found a permanent placement. She is rightly proud of her hard work.
“The last time I counted, in 2000, I had fostered 102 children in 22 years, but I’ve lost count now.”
Although she would normally only have up to three children in her care at any time, she fondly remembers a lively Christmas when she found herself caring for eight children, including five siblings, as part of her out of hours duties.
But Ermis and her husband are no strangers to managing a large family.
With five children, 13 grandchildren and two great-grandchildren, they have successfully combined raising a family with the support they provide to the children in their care.
Ermis now lives in Leyton, but continues fostering with Hackney. As she points out the long-service awards adorning her living room and goes through some of her training certificates, Ermis credits her continued enthusiasm to the people she has met, and the initiatives that have been introduced, together with the advice and support she has had from the Council’s Adoption and Fostering Unit.
Ermis welcomes the developments made over the years with black foster carers and black families. She is currently caring for two young people and hopes to continue her family’s fostering tradition by encouraging her daughter and her sister to become carers too.
“Fostering is one of the most rewarding experiences you can have,” she says. “It can be challenging sometimes, but I’d encourage anyone thinking about fostering, to make the effort and they will see the difference they can make.”
Does Ermis ever think of retiring? “My mother was a carer until she was 70, but I don’t think I will go on that long,” she jokes. “I thought that I might cut down, but I’ve got the room, a great family and a support network that helps me to carry on.”
It looks like she may be adding another long-service award to her collection.
Curriculum Vitae
- 1947 Born in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, West Indies
- 1963 Arrived in the UK and settled in Hackney
- 1969 Married Alfonzo Alvis
- 1974 Started working as a special needs assistant
- 1975 Community training course at Stoke Newington College
- 1978 Night warden at Douglas House, Tower Hamlets & started as a foster carer in Hackney
- 1986 Became a full-time foster carer
- 1990 Offered out of hours care until 1999
- 2000 Moved to Leyton, continued as a full-time carer in Hackney
- 2007 Started out of hours carer again
- 2008 Hackney Council award for 30 years long-service as a carer
Page updated: 15 Jun 2010
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