BLM – meeting adopters and sharing ideas
Hi I’m Henrietta, Project Lead for Adopt London, Black Lives Matter. I qualified as a social worker with a master’s degree in 2000. I have worked within the public sector and as a senior manager for over 18 years. I also worked as a Service Manager within Adoption and I am passionate about improving service user experience. My husband and I adopted our son in 2013.
When I was approached to lead the Adopt London (AL) Black Lives Matter (BLM) project, I saw it as a unique opportunity to influence change. Following the killing of George Floyd and the disproportionate impact of Covid19 on the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) community, the implications of discrimination and racism was once more brought to the fore. As we know, London is one of the most diverse cities in England. These issues affect the day-to-day lives of so many people and cannot, and should not be ignored.
The 23 London boroughs that make up Adopt London are committed to improving services for children of colour and their families. The issues that affect the BAME community is what the Adopt London BLM project seeks to address.
Listening Events
In my first blog, I introduced the BLM listening events. This is an opportunity for adopters to meet and share their experience.
This is my second blog. First, I would like to say a big thank you to all those that have already responded and attended the listening event. I found the experience to be truly inspiring and educative. Meeting other adopters like me, sharing experiences, and coming up with ideas on how to improve services for the BAME community, was truly amazing. These Listening Events are for those who are in the process of adopting or have already adopted.
Following these events, I will make recommendations to the Head of Services of the four Regional Adoption Agencies of Adopt London. This will lead to the formation of a working group, who will steer forward service improvement and the development of the recommendations identified at the Listening Events.
Therefore, I would like to encourage many more people to come forward to attend our Listening Event on Monday 23 Nov 12-2pm.
No matter who you are or where you are in your adoption journey, your views really do matter. This is because, it is the only way we can truly influence change. If you would like to attend one of our Listening Event, please email [email protected] and I look forward to meeting with you.
