York supports LGBTQ+ Adoption and Fostering Week
City of York Council’s fostering team and One Adoption North and Humber, the regional adoption agency for York, North Yorkshire and Humber, are showing their support for LGBTQ+ Adoption and Fostering Week (2-6 March) by lighting up the city walls in rainbow colours.
Led by charity New Family Social, this year’s campaign, Now’s the Time is calling for more people from the LGBTQ+ community to build their family through adoption and fostering. There’s never a perfect time to adopt or foster, and with an urgent need for more adoptive parents and foster carers for the UK’s most vulnerable children, now’s the time to take those first steps.
Cllr Bob Webb, City of York Council’s Executive Member for Children, Young People and Education, said: “We always need local foster carers to provide safe, loving homes for children and young people in York.
“We welcome foster carers from all backgrounds, religions, cultures, relationship status and sexuality and it’s important that our fostering community reflects the diversity of the children and young people in our care.
“I’d urge anyone who’s thinking about fostering to get in touch and help us change local children’s lives.”
Tom Maxwell, head of agency at One Adoption North and Humber said: “LGBTQ+ Adoption and Fostering Week is a fantastic opportunity to honour the incredible diversity and strength within our adopter community. Across our region, 1 in 5 adopters identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community, and their commitment, resilience, and capacity for empathy continue to enrich the lives of children who need safe and loving families.
“LGBTQ+ people can adopt and are welcomed and needed. Sexual orientation or gender identity is never a barrier. What counts is the quality of care you can offer. At One Adoption North and Humber we recognise the unique strengths LGBTQ+ people bring to adoption; lived experience, resilience, understanding and empathy mean that people from the community make wonderful advocates for adopted children, who often feel ‘different’. Right now, we are family‑finding for over 50 children, with nearly half waiting alongside their siblings for a home where they can stay together.
“There’s no such thing as the perfect time to start your adoption journey. If you’re wondering whether this could ever be for you, now’s the time to take those vital first steps.”
To find out more about fostering in York visit fostering.york.gov.uk or call 01904 555678 . You can also attend our next online information event on Tuesday 3 March from 12-1pm. Contact us to book your place here
You can find out more about adoption at One Adoption North and Humber’s online Q&A on Wednesday 4 March, 12-1pm. Book your free place by visiting the One Adoption website: https://www.oneadoption.co.uk/information-events or call 0345 305 2576.
For more information on adoption visit www.oneadoption.co.uk
LGBTQ+ Adoption and Fostering Week is organised by national charity New Family Social.