Adopter Stories by Adoption Now

Choosing to adopt is not a decision that is taken likely. We get that. It’s a life changing decision that can often lead to making big changes in your own lifestyle before you take on the responsibility of a child or children. That could be choosing to become a little healthier, gaining more experience in child care or even moving house.

And for our guest in this episode that is just what happened to her. Hannah started her adoption story back during the very start of Covid and as a single adopter she realised how important her wider support network will be so with this she decided that, during one of the biggest life decisions you can make, that she would do another one at the same time move house!

Aswell as the house move, we find out about how she came to the decision to adopt and we also discuss representation of single adopters and adoption in general in the wider media.

If hearing Hannah’s story has got you thinking about starting your adoption story why not book onto one of our upcoming Online Information Events. We run them twice monthly and they are 100% live over TEAMS. We talk through the adoption process, then we have an adopter guest speaker join us who tells their adoption story and we wrap up the event by have a Q&A where you can ask any questions that you may have.

Visit adoptionnow.org.uk/events to book your free place!

If you are new to adoption and new to thinking about whether adopting is right for you and your family, during your research you may or may not have heard the term care planning or family finding.

Here at adoption now we are essentially made up of 3 teams. Our Recruitment team, our support team and our care planning or family finding team. Across our social media channels and our website we focus a lot on the recruitment of adopters and our amazing support team for our children and adopters alike. But we don’t often get chance to talk about our Careplanning Team.

Now you may hear other agencies refer to these teams as Family Finding. And as the name suggests, their role is to find adopters for the children they are case holding for.

For this episode I sat down to chat with 2 members of our Careplanning team to find out how they go about finding a family, some of the challenges that they face and what they look for in adopters for their children.

If you are thinking about adopting and looking for the perfect place to start, we always recommend that you come to one of our Online Information Events. Hosted by one of our social workers, featuring an adopter guest speaker they are best place for you to have your questions about adoption answered! They take place twice a month on Microsoft TEAMS and you can reserve your free place at our next event by visiting adoptionnow.org.uk/events

Or if you would like to speak to a member of our team why not call our information line on 01204 336096. Our Information line is open 9am- 5pm Monday to Friday and member of our Welcome Team will be only too happy to take your call and answer any questions that you may have.

If you have been out in our local authority regions you may well have seen billboards for our latest campaign ‘I became a parent when…’ We have launched this campaign to highlight the positives that come with becoming or growing a family through adoption.

The campaign has launched at a time when the numbers of people coming forward to adopt is unfortunately at an all-time low, and this especially affects some of the region’s most vulnerable children. In fact at the time of recording there are currently more children waiting for families than there are adoptive families being approved so we really do need adopters to come forward.

For this campaign tie-in episode we put the call out to some of our amazing adopters to find out just when they felt that spark, that time when they felt like they felt that special moment happen. And they answered with some amazing memories!

If they have inspired you to find out more about starting the adoption process just give us a call on our information line and we’ll be only too happy to speak to you! The number is 01204 336096 and our line is open 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.

You can also start your adoption story by visiting our website – adoptionnow.org.uk!

The latest, national figures show that in 2023, 1 in 5 adoptions in England were to same sex couples. Now, while this is a fantastic stat we realise that not everyone in the LGBTQ+ community feel that they will be supported or even welcomed in the same way as heterosexual couples when they start the adoption process.

At adoption now this couldn’t be further from the truth and we felt it was high time to highlight the support and inclusivity we offer to ALL of our adopters; no matter their sexuality, whether they are in a relationship or single. We understand that picking up the phone to call us or filling in the contact form on our website is such a huge step to take, and we want you to know that you will be supported right from the very start.

Our guests on this episode are Emma & Jo and Rhiannon. Emma & Jo are a young LGBTQ+ couple who have adopted two children and Rhiannon, along with her partner has adopted via the Fostering for adoption route.

We brought Emma & Jo and Rhiannon together to help us record our latest ad for GAYDIO however, what we ended up with as a bonus is a whole episode for our podcast. You will find out about their adoption story, the support that they felt throughout the adoption process and also some of their most memorable moments so far.

If hearing their story has given you that little push to want to find out more about adoption and the adoption process, why not call our information line on 01204 336096 where a member of our Welcome Team will only be too happy to help you start your adoption story.

You can also visit our website, which has loads of resources, adoption stories, our entire podcast library and where you can download our Adoption Information Pack. And if you don’t quite feel ready to call us you can also fill out our contact form on the website.

For our first episode of 2024 we wanted to take things right back down to basics and give you the best advice possible for starting your adoption story. There are a lot of myths that still exist around adoption and the adoption process and often a lot of these myths will tie in with your own questions that you want to find the answers too.

There is a wealth of information out there on the internet and social media; so in the episode we will be busting a lot of the most common myths; giving you the most accurate and upto date advice that we have. And when I say we I am of course talking about my guest; who in the first episode of 2024 is the manager of our Welcome Team; Dan.

Dan has a wealth of experience and knowledge and we are going to tap into that first in our interview and then with a quick fire myth busting round!

If you are thinking about adoption then please head over to our website www.adoptionnow.org.uk where you will find a wealth of information about the adoption process, you will also be able to download our Information pack and also book onto one of our upcoming Information Events.

Alternatively you can always call us on 01204 336096 and a member of our Welcome Team will be only to happy to answer any questions that you may have around starting the adoption process.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we have been excited to bring you very some special, festive episodes of our Adopter Stories podcast, in which we asked some of our families about their first Christmas as adoptive parents, those first precious moments as a family.

In this fourth and final episode we had the privilege of sitting down to chat with Shauneen, finding out about their first Christmas as a family.

If you are considering adoption and would like to enquire with Adoption Now, or ask any questions that you may have then please head over to our website which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk. Or, alternatively you can ring our information line on 01204 336096. Our Information line is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

Thank you very much for listening and we hope that you have a brilliant Christmas!

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we are excited to bring you very some special, festive episodes of our Adopter Stories podcast. We asked some of our families about their first Christmas as adoptive parents, those first precious moments as a family.

In the third episode we had the privilege of sitting down to chat with Matthew, finding out about their first Christmas as a family.

If you are considering adoption and would like to enquire with Adoption Now, or ask any questions that you may have then please head over to our website which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk. Or, alternatively you can ring our information line on 01204 336096. Our Information line is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we are excited to bring you very some special, festive episodes of our Adopter Stories podcast. We asked some of our families about their first Christmas as adoptive parents, those first precious moments as a family.

In this first episode we had the privilege of sitting down to chat with Tracey, finding out about their first Christmas as a family.

If you are considering adoption and would like to enquire with Adoption Now, or ask any questions that you may have then please head over to our website which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk. Or, alternatively you can ring our information line on 01204 336096. Our Information line is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas we are excited to bring you very some special, festive episodes of our Adopter Stories podcast. We asked some of our families about their first Christmas as adoptive parents, those first precious moments as a family.

In this first episode we had the privilege of sitting down to chat with Terry, finding out about their first Christmas as a family.

If you are considering adoption and would like to enquire with Adoption Now, or ask any questions that you may have then please head over to our website which is www.adoptionnow.org.uk. Or, alternatively you can ring our information line on 01204 336096. Our Information line is open 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday.

At Adoption Now we take great pride in the way we are able to support our families so, with Christmas just on the horizon we thought it would be good to offer some extra support and advice for the holidays.

There is no doubt that Christmas is a magical time of year; what with all the lights, sounds, smells and traditions that are associated with it. However, a lot of children find this time of year hard, with all the sudden changes to routines and all the expectations that come with it along with a sensory overload as the world changes around them. Children in care have often experienced so much trauma in their early lives that Christmas can often be especially hard for them and their families.

We readily acknowledge that this isn't the case for every looked after child but to try and help alleviate some of the pressures for both children and their families, I sat down to chat with Rita, one of our resident Therapeutic Parenting experts to get some hints & tips around making the most of the festive period and creating the best time possible for children and the wider families.

At this moment in time we have more need than ever for anyone who is thinking about adopting to come forward. If you are looking to start your adoption story why not contact our Information Line on 01204 336096, and maybe you could start making some new traditions of your own.

You can also visit www.adoptionnow.org.uk which is packed full of information about adoption and the adoption process.