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Jesse’s story

Posted April 10, 2026
Jesse’s story

Picture: Jesse with his mum and OzChild carer, Anne

Using lived experience to strengthen foster care

“I wouldn’t be where I am today without carers who believed in me.”

Young people’s voices are powerful, especially when they are used to improve the systems designed to support them. Jesse, a young person with lived experience of foster care, is using his voice to call for more foster carers, as well as advocate for a stronger, more sustainable foster care system for children and carers. Supporting the work of the National Foster Carer Sustainability Group which OzChild is part of, Jesse is sharing his story publicly, helping shift conversations to the support needed for foster care families.

Jesse’s story is a reminder of what works. Now is the time to build on it.

The Future of Foster Care Asks

A national opportunity to strengthen foster care

Every child deserves to grow up in a safe, stable and nurturing home. Across Australia, there is both the knowledge and capability to make this a reality for children in foster care. What is needed now is coordinated national action to strengthen the systems that support them.

The National Foster Care Sustainability Group is calling on the Government to provide three targeted, evidence-informed changes that can unlock meaningful improvements for children, carers and the broader system. Learn more and add your voice to the call for change.

Jesse has shared his foster care journey with honesty and courage, using his voice to help shape a better future for other young people by advocating for practical, achievable reforms that can strengthen foster care across Australia, creating better outcomes for children, carers and communities.

Hear from Jesse

Lived experience driving change

Jesse Bell-Myers shares his story with the Daily Telegraph, saying the foster care system saved his life. Born addicted to drugs, at the age of eight months old he was placed in foster care with the woman who would become his adoptive mother.

Watch Jesse share his story

A powerful reminder of why foster cares must be better supported

A nominee for Young Australian of the Year in 2020 and a full-time student, Jesse shared his story at Parliament House in 2025 for the Parliamentary Friends of Foster Carers and Children in Foster Care launch event.

Listen to Jesse’s speech

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