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Stories from Adopters

Nick and Helen had 2 brothers placed with them aged 3 years and 5 years, who are now adopted. This is what they had to say about their experiences:

"Adopting children who aren’t babies is not necessarily to be seen as a poor second option thrust on us because there just aren’t enough infants to go around. There are many positive and moving advantages to adopting children who, for whatever reasons, needs a second chance at a family, however old they may be.

True, you may miss out on their first word, first step and so on; that’s inescapable. The joy, however, of the first time a child comes to you for comfort; calls you Mummy and Daddy, says ‘I love you’, or draw a picture for just you is just so special. I am not going to pull any punches, the journey from where you are now to achieving a placement of a child is long and hard, but it’s worth it.

Hard it might have been – but it was one of the best times in our lives as well. I’ll never forget (the eldest) drawing a big ring round a picture of the four of us and saying ‘that’s our family’, or the first bed-time story or the first time we were all out together on our own. All these firsts were as much a part of building our family as anything that has come afterwards and a necessary part of growing together.

Together we are the F family and I’d defy you to pick us out from the crowd!"

Susan and Paul talk about their experience of being prepared for adoption:

"With open minds we attended the adoption training sessions, ---looking back over the course we both realise how important the course is. We met other people in similar situations to us, which gave us the chance to talk about our experiences, which we found very useful. We also valued the course contents, specifically the section on attachment and bonding with adopted children.

The highlight of the course however, was getting a chance to meet parents who have adopted and hearing about their journey. This really helped at the end of the course as we had only dealt in theory before and now we were hearing something tangible.

Looking back, we were nervous about the whole adoption journey but now we have our child, we cannot imagine living without her.

If we could give some advice to prospective adopters, it would be that no matter how hard you think the adoption journey is going to be, the end result will always make it worthwhile. No matter how much paper work you have to fill in, it is for a reason.

No matter how many meetings you have to attend they too are for a very good reason.

If you follow the process and are true to yourselves at all times, you will be as lucky as we are."

Here are comments from some of our adopters about the service received from Caritas Care:

"I wanted to write to you to formally thank Caritas Care and most specifically (the social worker) for the incredibly high standard of support and care provided over the last 18 months."

"The social worker has been insightful, supportive and kind throughout my training, placement and ongoing settlement with my child. The social worker has made herself available at al times of the day and night and continues to help and advise 3 months after my daughter came to live with me."

"Caritas Care is wonderful, they don't just close the book after they have supplied the information they have, but keep the door open for as long as it is needed."

"The service was faultless, and I cannot praise them enough for their professionalism."

"My experience of Caritas Care has been one of a caring, responsible, approachable and supportive agency."