The Foster Parents and the family

Terttu (born in 1955) is the executive director and the mother of the Foster Home. She is a psychiatrist nurse (graduated in 1987) and a sexual therapist (graduated in 2007). Before establishing the Foster Home, she was working in Haukkala youth psychiatry unit and the general hospital psychiatry unit in Middle-Finland Central Hospital in Jyväskylä. She has also been working in Kiuruvesi Sanity Office as a nurse and as a head nurse at the Kiuruvesi nursing home.

Kari (born in 1958) is the education leader and the father of the Foster Home. Previously, his main job was farming. He graduated as a psychiatric nurse in 1997, a family therapist in 2003 and a family intervention clinician in 2006. Kari was working in the Crisis unit of Koljonvirta in Iisalmi before establishing the Foster Home.

The Foster Home parents have established an association called Luja ry, which is an association of Private Foster Homes and Child Welfare Offices. It was established to develop the function of Foster Homes and Child Welfare Offices.

The family have four biological children; Tapani (born in 1978), Tuomas (born in 1979), Pekka (born in 1980) and Maria (born in 1992). Only Maria is living at home at the moment. The host family spend their time enjoying nature and music, collecting berries, fishing and hunting.