November is recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month. Numerous events are celebrated throughout the country to raise awareness about the more than 100,000 children in foster care waiting to find families that will provide them a permanent, loving home. This year, on November 17th, Voices For Children attended the local celebration of National Adoption Day at the Miami Children’s Museum. Children and their new families gathered in a friendly ceremony in which approximately 60 children were adopted in courtrooms set up inside the museum.
At this event, we at Voices For Children were excited to get to know Andrea and her new mother Mary. Andrea, a seventeen-year-old Haitian that spent two and a half years in the foster care system due to a history of abuse, was finally adopted. Mary met Andrea through a mutual friend who had originally intended to adopt her. Although her friend wasn’t able to finalize the process, as soon as Mary was introduced to Andrea they became a family. Both, Mary and Andrea received important guidance by the Guardian ad Litem Program. They assisted Andrea in dealing with the trauma that she experienced before entering the dependency system as well as other issues that arose throughout the process. “The Guardian ad Litem Program has been able to guide me through the process to get to the point of adoption” states Mary. The GAL Program provided resources that were extremely helpful to Andrea.
Mary told us that the completion of Andrea’s adoption at the Miami Children’s Museum gave her the opportunity to include other friends and extended family members who helped them throughout the process. It allowed them to gather and celebrate in a more friendly space that “gives the kids a relaxed environment to feel the love”. Thanks to the support provided by the different players involved in Andrea’s case – including her case manager, her GAL, and the love of Mary – Andrea has her new forever family that will provide the support and encouragement she needs to live a life that allows her to achieve her dreams.
By being a Voice, you are helping kids like Andrea become part of a loving family.
* Mother and child’s names were changed to protect their privacy
