Happy Birthday – We are 1
Today – 1 October – is the official 1st birthday of Adopt London, celebrating the coming together of 23 London local authority adoption teams as one. We are stronger together as we recruit adopters and support adoptive families across the London area.
We are four Regional Adoption Agencies (RAA) – covering the north, east, south and west of our diverse, resilient and exciting capital city, we have brought together over 140 staff with extensive experience in adoption, providing a service for thousands of adoptive families.
Supporting families during COVID19
As the impact of the Covid19 pandemic became apparent, Adopt London introduced emergency resources as part of the Government initiative to support the most vulnerable children who struggled with the significant changes in their lives, the fear and panic it brought for them, and helped parents reach out to one another and therapists through peer support and 1-2-1s. Hundreds of families have signed up for free memberships, with more available with PACT’s The Adopter Hub and the National Association of Therapeutic Parenting. PAC-UK and AdoptionPlus teamed up to offer 1-2-1 support to families as well as GrandParents Plus/Kinship Connected for Special Guardianship families.
Well-being Choir
The introduction of our very first Virtual Adopt London Choir, was a resounding success, as families and workers came together to sing, release their stress and most importantly have fun. The power of singing in supporting our well-being is huge and for everyone – mums, dads and the children! Watch our video to hear the facts about the positives of singing together as a choir. Watch this space for news of more choirs in the future.
Making plans for the future
Our ‘official’ launch took place before the Covid19 isolation measures, and an opportunity for the RAA staff to come together to identify our common goals and our plans to implement new practices to achieve our robust objectives – all this and more is captured in our Adopt London launch video.
This last 12 months were not what we expected, as the Covid19 pandemic has very much affected every aspect of our work and all our lives. The impact of the Black Lives Matter movement has influenced us to reach out to families across London to ensure the adoption experience for our BAME community is the best it can be, and to identify how we can improve the experience for all for our black children. Meet Henrietta and find out about the work she is doing and how adoptive families in London can help.
Finally a huge thank you to all those who have helped us achieve all our accomplishments to date. From the families who have lent their support in one way or another, the staff in all 23 boroughs through to the project planners, communication teams and Government ministers. Please have a slice of cake with us to mark our last 12 months, and here’s to the next 12 months. Stay safe.