Children are waiting for a family

Adoption Matters is taking part in a new nationwide campaign aimed at dispeling myths around adotion.

The Leeds-based charity says there are still almost 3,000 children waiting for a family, even during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The new recruitment campaign - #youcanadopt - launched on September 16 and states that the number of adoptions in England has fallen by a third in the past four years and the number of children waiting has risen and the length of time they wait has increased.

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Adoption Matters Chief Executive, Norman Goodwin CBE, said: “We hope that this national campaign will help challenge some of the myths that still exist around adoption.

“There is a very wide range of people who have the motivation, commitment and love to be a great parent and there are many children who are waiting.

“Here at Adoption Matters, we have worked hard to ensure that throughout the pandemic, we are here for people interested in adoption and to continue to offer support to our families and children.

“We want to continue to encourage people to think about expanding their family or starting their family through adoption. The thing you need most is the time, love and commitment to offer a child or children.”

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The campaign highlights that people can adopt from a variety of backgrounds, including single people, those from all religions, people from the LGBTQ+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic communities.

Earlier this year, a new report revealed that over four in ten adults in the UK have considered adoption or would consider adoption in future.

But, despite this, over six in 10 adults do not feel they know much about the adoption process and this lack of knowledge may contribute to many people not taking the important first step.

A new film has been released featuring singer Sinitta and TV vocal coaches Carrie and David Grant alongside other families who are joining in encouraging others to consider adoption.

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Adoption Matters family, Amy and Ben Hathaway, together with their six children, also feature in the campaign film which is available to view at: www.youcanadopt.co.uk

Amy said: “Ben and I adopted a baby girl through Adoption Matters and she is just amazing and keeps us highly entertained every single day!

“We also have five other adopted children who we adopted in Tanzania (none are biological siblings - they were five separate adoptions).

“Our children are all Black African and we are white British so our story is not a ‘typical’ one.

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“We chose adoption as our first and only way of creating a family. I have known since I was a little girl that I would adopt my children and they are all incredible.”

Amy added: “It was very important that my children keep their culture and heritage – our house is full of African art; we fill our shelves with books which have Black main characters; we cook Tanzanian food, we still speak Swahili and we will always return to Tanzania for our holidays.

“I found Adoption Matters to be really great. They were very open minded and supportive as I am sure other agencies may have been sceptical about us adopting a sixth child (and they also helped us adopt the most precious little girl in existence!).

“I can honestly say that adoption is without a doubt, the best thing I ever did (six times over!).

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“I would never want to create a family in any other way. If you have love in your heart, have strength and passion to support a child no matter what, then adoption could be the right path for you.”

To find out more about adoption, download an information pack at: www.adoptionmatters.org/contact-us-2/ or contact Freephone: 0300 123 1066 or by email: [email protected]

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