Thirty-nine balloons will be released in Carlisle next Tuesday (6 November) to highlight the need for more adoptive parents in the county.
As part of National Adoption Week (5 - 11 November) current adopters will be joining county council adoption staff and Pauline Halfpenny, Assistant Cabinet member for looked after children, to release the thirty-nine balloons - one for each child in Cumbria currently looking for a new family.
The launch takes place at 12.30pm in Portland Square.
Being an adoptive parent can be a very challenging role, but also a very rewarding one.
Paul Cox lives in the west of the county. He adopted both his children when they were babies - his first child, Jamie, 18 years ago and a second child, Zoe, 13 years ago.
Paul says:
"Our experience has been very good and we got excellent support from social services.
"My wife made a story book for the children about their birth parents with pictures which we used to explain to both children about their history.
"The adoption process is lengthy but extremely worthwhile. You need to steel yourself for some delay and be patient. Also the child you get will come with some history, and you need to bear that in mind.
"In the end, adoption is just like having your own children and I would encourage anyone who is thinking about adoption to act now and get hold of more information.
Liz Bedford adopted 19 year old David when he was a baby. At 16, when he decided to join the army, David also decided to track down his birth mother in case anything happened to him as he knew there was a chance he would be posted to Iraq.
Liz says:
"We waited four years for David, but it was worth the wait. I heard that his birth mother wanted to make sure he went to a good home, and when she found out that I was a nurse she felt happy knowing I would be able to look after him if he was ill.
"When he decided to search for his birth mother, he didn't tell me at first so I was a bit upset when he eventually did let me know - typical of David though, he hadn't told me to start with because he didn't want me to feel bad.
"After that, I helped him look for her and we found her quite quickly.
"We keep in touch and she is part of the family now - we rang each other up for reassurance when David was out in Iraq.
"People say, 'what problems have you had with David?', and the answer is simple - just the sort of problems you have with any child, nothing more, nothing less."
County Councillor Pauline Halfpenny will be joining in the balloon launch next Tuesday lunchtime. She said:
"All the parents at the launch have provided one very precious, but essentially very basic, thing - a secure and loving family environment that they can blossom in.
"We do have a few toddlers to place, but there are a number of other children - brother and sister groups, disabled children, and older children - who have been waiting for a family for some time now.
"I hope that National Adoption Week will encourage more people to take the opportunity to find out more about adopting.
"We know that there are people out there who would make fantastic adopters and I would urge anyone who thinks they might be interested to get in touch with their local office - even if it's just for an informal chat."
To find out more about adopting, you can call the county council's adoption teams on (01228) 607078 or (01900) 325308.
End
Further information from Alison Lister, media team on (01228) 606335.
The National Adoption Week balloon launch will be at Portland Square in Carlisle at 12.30pm on Tuesday 6 November. Adoptive parents, county council adoption staff, and Councillor Halfpenny will be at the event.
Notes
- There are currently 39 children waiting for adoption in Cumbria, and more than 300 in the North West.
- 16 prospective adopters were approved by the county council in 2006/07
- 26 children were placed with adoptive parents and were adopted in 2006/7
The balloons being released are environmentally friendly.