Is there room in your heart to give a child a loving home?

Shropshire Council and Telford and Wrekin Council are appealing for people to come forward to find out more about adoption as part of National Adoption Week from Monday 5 November to  Sunday 11 November 2012.

Shropshire’s joint adoption team is particularly looking to find families for harder-to-place children, and want to ensure that children as well as babies are given ‘forever families’.  Many other children requiring adoption include older children, groups of brothers and sisters who need to live together, children from minority ethnic groups, and children with specific learning and health needs.

National Adoption Week is organised by the British Association for Adoption and Fostering, and aims to raise awareness of adoption and encourage potential parents to come forward.  There are an estimated 4,000 children across the UK needing adoption every year, many of whom will have suffered trauma in their lives.

The week also starts the launch of the Shropshire’s joint adoption campaign “Is there room in your heart for adoption”.

Ann Hartley, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for health and well-being, said:

“There is a desperate need for more people to come forward to provide ‘forever families’ in Shropshire and Telford and Wrekin.  This important week reminds us there are children and young people out there waiting to be taken in by someone who will make them part of their own family.

“I really hope that this week’s National Adoption Week will provide an inspiration for people to contact us and find out more about how they can really give a child a loving home.”

Councillor Paul Watling, Cabinet member with responsibility for children, young people and families at Telford and Wrekin Council, said:

“We welcome applications from all sectors of the community.  There are no blanket bans in adoption, so please don’t think we’ll turn you down because you’re over 40, single, in a same sex relationship, previously married or don’t own your own home.

“What we really need are people who can offer a child or sibling group a loving and supportive family for life.  We need people who can help a child recover from the reasons why they came in to care and can help them go on to thrive in a new family.”

If you, or someone you know, is interested in finding out more about adoption, please call us on our Freephone on 0800 783 8798 or visit shropshire.gov.uk or www.telford.gov.uk.