Hull City Council’s fostering team and One Adoption North and Humber, the regional adoption agency for North Yorkshire and the Humber councils, are showing their support for LGBTQ+ Adoption and Fostering Week this week.
This year’s campaign, ‘#ChangeLives in ’25’, calls for more people from the community to explore fostering and adoption as a way to build their families, and also change a child’s life.
Last year alone 1 in 5 adoptions in the country were to same-gender couples.
One Adoption North and Humber are hosting two adoption information events in March. They’re hosting an online event on Wednesday 12 March at 6pm and an in-person event in Hull, with the head of agency Tom Maxwell, Monday 24 March at 6pm.
Places can be booked by visiting the online booking page on the One Adoption website.
In England there are currently some 83,630 looked after children.
For those not quite ready to take the step into adoption, fostering can be a wonderful alternative. Fostering allows people to provide a safe, loving, and temporary home for Hull children in need, giving them the stability and care they deserve while they gain valuable experience and insight into the world of child care. It’s a rewarding way to make a significant difference in a child’s life without the long-term commitment of adoption.
For more information on how fostering works and to get in touch with Hull Fostering, email them on fostering@hullcc.gov.uk, call 01482 612 800 or visit www.HullFostering.co.uk. They’re on hand to offer support to foster carers step of the way.
Councillor Linda Tock, the portfolio holder for Children and Family Services at Hull City Council, said: “We offer a warm welcome to any LGBTQ+ people considering adoption or fostering. Our priority here in Hull is finding stable and loving homes for our looked after children, and we welcome applications from people of all backgrounds.”
Tom Maxwell, Head of Agency at One Adoption North and Humber said: “We appreciate that LGBTQ+ adopters have many distinct qualities, strengths and insights from their own life experiences that would make them excellent adoptive parents and strong advocates for their children: empathy and resilience, an openness to difference, and an acceptance that everyone is an individual and equally important.
“When you adopt with us, you’ll be joining a vibrant community of experienced LGBTQ+ adopters. We are proud of the diversity of our adoptive families, with 1 in 5 of our adopters coming from the LGBTQ+ community but we need more people to come forward. We currently have more than 70 children waiting for a home.”
