Published on Wednesday 16 September 2020
Aspire Adoption are looking to bust the misconceptions about adoption as part of the national #YouCanAdopt campaign which launches today. The Regional Adoption Agency for Bournemouth, Christchurch, Poole (BCP) Council & Dorset Council are appealing to all people & couples over the age of 21 including those who are single, older, from a Black or Asian background as well as those who are LGBTQ+ to come forward and welcome a child into their family.
Since its launch in July 2017, Aspire has placed 183 children from the BCP & Dorset areas, as well as offering support to all adoptive families and those affected by adoption as well as providing Special Guardianship services across the two regions.
Jenny Warr, Service Manager of Aspire Adoption said:
"Since the unprecedented events of the Covid-19 crisis began, the Aspire team have risen to the challenge and have placed 26 children with their forever families and continued to support our families both in person and virtually.
There are many children though who still need an adoptive family and I urge anyone who has been thinking about adoption to give us a call and have an informal chat with one of our friendly team. We are always looking to speak to potential adopters for children of all ages, but in particular we would like to speak to anyone considering adopting siblings, children aged 4 or over, those little ones with additional needs and children from different ethnicities.
There are many myths around adoption about who can adopt. To be eligible to adopt you have to be 21 or over, you can be single, married or in a long term relationship. You can be from any ethnic or religious background and it doesn’t matter if you are heterosexual or from the LGBTQ+ community. All sorts of people can make great adopters. We need people to come forward who can give a safe and loving forever home to a child.
There is also a myth around the length an adoption assessment can take. It does not take forever but can be done in as little as six months. The message is clear, and that is You Can Adopt!"
Aspire are currently family finding for 20 children across the BCP & Dorset region. Aspire are asking anyone who is considering adoption to give them a call on 0300 123 9868 for an informal chat. More information can be found on the Aspire website www.aspireadoption.co.uk or on Facebook & Twitter. There will also be a virtual information evening on Tuesday 13thOctober where members of the Aspire team will be joined by an adopter who adopted a little boy as a single person.
Note to editors: Any enquiries for further information from Aspire Adoption can be done by contacting David Rafelle at david.rafelle@aspireadoption.co.uk or on 07387 250665.