and reach thousands of daily visitors
Listen to thisNovember is Adoption Awareness Month in British Columbia and we are looking for 1,000 families willing to step up and help improve the lives of some of B.C.’s most vulnerable young people.
Nearly 1,300 children and youth in B.C. have found loving homes through adoption over the past five years.. Unfortunately, more than 1,000 children in continuing care of the government are still waiting and hoping for the stability and care of an adoptive family.
Why so many? Part of the problem seems to be a matter of perspective. Too often when people think of adoption, they imagine a healthy infant being united with a traditional two-parent family. While this scenario occasionally rings true, it does not reflect the demographic diversity of our province, nor does it consider the particular life circumstances of those children in care whose needs are greatest.
The reality is that many of the young people in care who are waiting for adoption are school-age. They may be siblings who need to stay together. Some may have special placement needs due to difficult early childhood experiences, prenatal exposure to alcohol or drugs, learning delays or other developmental challenges.
These are children and teens in foster care who can’t live with their birth families and are waiting for a forever home. They’ve come into government care for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they have been abused or neglected in their birth home; their parents may have died without naming a guardian; or, in some cases, their families were unable to provide proper care and instead looked to adoption as the best option. Whatever their personal circumstances, these waiting kids need families who will love them, encourage the, give them a sense of belonging and provide them with opportunities for a better life.
Stephanie Cadieux and Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/Opinion+families+needed+children+youth/10343312/story.html
