Adopter Stories by Adoption Now

At Adoption Now we love to partner with groups that we feel enhance the adopter journey. Providing extra value and support for adopters that goes above and beyond the already amazing support that we are able to offer.

One of our partner groups are Proud 2 B Parents, an inclusive organisation run by and for LGBT+ parents / carers to be who run a variety of services, events and training.

We are proud sponsors of Proud 2 B parents and the work they do locally in our local authority areas, and beyond, to support LBGT+ families, 19% of our matched adopters identified as LGBT+ last year, and we are always eager to ensure that the families we work with have access to support services, groups, and advice they need as they progress as a family.

I sat down to chat with Matt Taylor-Roberts, who is the Founder and Managing Director of Proud 2 B Parents. We talk about how Proud 2 B Parents came about, the work they do and what advice they would give to LGBT+ people who are thinking about adopting.

If hearing from Matt has given you the push you need to further explore adoption with us then please visit our website www.adoptionnow.org.uk where you will be able to find out all about the adoption process and download our free information pack. You will also be able to book onto one of upcoming online information events and complete our contact form to start your adoption story.

Proud 2 B Parents website: www.proud2bparents.co.uk

Our pioneering ‘Mentor Scheme’ was one of the first in the country and ensures that someone is always there, should you need it, to help guide you through one of the biggest, life-changing commitments you can make.

In this second of a two part series of interviews for our You Are Not Alone campaign, I sat down to chat with Natalie and Helen, two of our amazing mentors to talk about their own support network, family and what adoption means to them.

If you have been inspired to start your adoption story then please visit www.adoptionnow.org.uk where you will be able to find out more about the adoption process itself, download our information pack, book on to one of our upcoming online information events and fill out our contact form to start your adoption story!

In this episode we will be finding out about our brand new campaign You Are Not Alone, our latest Roadshow in which we attended Family Pride in Manchester with our friends at Proud2BeParents, how Adoption Now were on local BBC radio and finally Welcome Team Manager, Dan, will be back with the next feature in our getting ready to adopt segment – which this time is all about Stage 2!

If you are thinking about adoption or would like to start your adoption story you can always visit our website, which is adoptionnow.org.uk or you can call our Information Line on 01204 336096 where a member of our team will be only too happy to answer any questions that you may have and help you to start your adoption story.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and when it comes to adoption this saying takes on even more significance.

Following on from the recent You Can Adopt national campaign, we are launching our own, brand-new campaign You are Not Alone, that aims to highlight that Adoption Now is not just an adoption agency, we are a community working to find safe, loving, and secure homes for hundreds of children across the North-West and supporting each other in the process.

In this first of a two part series of interviews for our You are not alone campaign, I sat down to chat with Clare and Abubakar, two of our amazing mentors to talk about community, family and what it means to them to be a mentor.

If you are inspired to start your adoption story then please visit www.adoptionnow.org.uk where you will be able to find out more about the adoption process itself, download our information pack, book on to one of our upcoming Online Information Events and fill out our contact form.

In this episode of Extra Time we will be finding about the brand new, national campaign The Journey from You Can Adopt, the exciting plans we have in place for Dad Pod – Episode 2!, our latest Roadshow and finally, Dan, our Welcome Team Manager will be back with the next feature in our getting ready to adopt segment – which this time is all about Stage 1!

To listen to the latest You Can Adopt podcast visit https://soundcloud.com/user-614622571/the-adoption

To learn more about the latest You Can Adopt campaign 'The Journey' at www.youcanadopt.co.uk

If you want to get involved and let us know about your own adoption journey. You can record a video or audio snippet and we will post it to our socials and/or use it in this podcast!

If you are thinking about adoption or would like to start your adoption story be sure to visit our website, which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk or you can call our Information Line on 01204 336096 where a member of our team will be only too happy to answer any questions that you may have and help you to start your adoption story!

In this episode we reflect on our Hope for a Brighter Future Campaign which is coming to an end this month.

June saw us hold our annual service day, in which the whole service came together to review the last year. We’ll be hearing from our head of service about the day itself.

And then we finish the episode with part three of our brand new, monthly feature – getting you ready to adopt. In this series of interviews with our Welcome Team Manager Dan; we will be running through each step of the process so you will know what to expect as part of your adoption story and in this episode Dan talks us about the Registration of Interest.

If you are thinking about adoption or would like to start your adoption story you can visit our website, which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk or you can call our Information Line on 01204 336096 where a member of our team will be only too happy to answer any questions that you may have and help you to start your adoption story.

One of the biggest pieces of training that takes place in Stage 1 is Preparation Training.

A 3 day, in person course in which we aim of to prepare our adopters for what’s to come during their adoption journey, so they know what to expect and also build on their knowledge of what adoption is.

So to give you a little jump start on what’s to come if and when you start your adoption story, I sat down to chat with Kayleigh, one of our experienced social workers here at adoption now, who delivers this training.

Amongst other things, we find a bit more about what prep training is and what it is that you will get out of the training.

If hearing about prep training has got you excited to find out more about how you start your adoption story, why not come along to one of our upcoming Online Information Events?

Taking place online, our Online Information Events are the perfect place to start YOUR adoption story. There you can find out all about the process itself, where preparation training fits into the process and also ask any questions you have; our social worker presenter and adopter guest speaker will be only too happy to answer your questions.

To book, simply head over to www.adoptionnow.org.uk/events

Alternatively you can also call our Information Line to start your adoption story – open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday simply call - 01204 336096 and a member of our team will be only too happy to help you start!

In episode 3 of Extra Time we recap on our current Hope for a Brighter Future Campaign, we’ll find out about the pressing need we have for adopters to come forward.

Our adoption now roadshows across our local authority areas carries on with Bolton and Blackburn.

And then we finish the episode with part two of our brand new, monthly feature – getting you ready to adopt. In this series of interviews with our Welcome Team Manager Dan; we will be running through each step of the process so you will know what to expect as part of your adoption story and in this episode Dan talks to us about Initial Visits.

If you are thinking about adoption or would like to start your adoption story you can visit our website, which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk or you can call our Information Line on 01204 336096 where a member of our team will be only too happy to answer any questions that you may have and help you to start your adoption story.

Extra time is where each month we are going to bring you more about what’s going on within the agency by going behind the scenes on projects and campaigns that we are currently working on; giving you important dates for your diary,and we’ll also occasionally feature case studies of some of the children that we are currently finding families for, and much more.

In this episode we are taking a look at our brand new campaign with Sarah, a member of our welcome team and our marketing team; I’ll be chatting with Amanda about our recent Adoption Day and also Catrin, one of our social workers here at Adoption Now about the brand new, regional campaign Adoption North West.

And then we’ll finish up the episode with the start of our brand new, monthly feature – getting you ready to adopt. In this series of interviews with our Welcome Team Manager Dan; we will be running through each step of the process that you can expect to form your adoption story. Today we are going right back to the very beginning and talk about Initial enquiry Forms.

Our Online Information Events for May are as follows:

Wednesday 15th May at 12pm

Wednesday 29th May at 5pm

To book your place simply head over to www.adoptionnow.org.uk/events and click on the best date for you.

If you are thinking about adoption or would like to start your adoption story you can always visit our website, which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk or you can call our Information Line on 01204 336096 where a member of our team will be only too happy to answer any questions that you may have and help you to start your adoption story.

This April we are launching our brand new campaign – hope for a brighter future. This will be a large scale campaign as now more than ever we need adopters to come forward for all our children.

The campaign focusses on raising awareness of the positive difference adopters can make to a child’s future. This campaign is going live on the 22th April so keep your eyes out for our adverts when you’re out and about in our local authority areas!

In this latest episode we catch up with Dan & Hayley, who adopted siblings, and find out the positive difference that they have made to the lives of their adopted children. Sibling groups are often some of the children who wait the longest to adopted so in this episode we find out why Dan & Hayley came to the decision to adopt siblings, what have been some of challenges of adopting siblings and of course we talk about the highs too.

If hearing their story has got you thinking about adopting siblings, then we would love to hear from you.

With fewer people coming forward, now, more the ever, we need adopters, and once approved adopters are less likely to have to wait to be matched.

You can find out more information about starting the adoption process by visiting our website which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk. There you will be able to download our information pack and fill our contact form to start your adoption story.

You can also call our Information Line on 01204 336096. Open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday you will be able to speak to a member of our welcome team who will be only too happy to answer any questions you have and help you start your adoption story.

Don’t forget we are going to be releasing two episodes per month going forward so if you don’t already, make sure you have clicked that subscribe button so you don’t miss any future episodes.