Advocacy

We've added 40 books to our adoption library! Check them out here, and stop by our head office in Burnaby to borrow one. For more information on our lending library visits our main library page.     

The purpose of the Harambee Cultural Society is to celebrate the value of transracial families and mitigate the challenges faced by transracially adopted children. In 2020 Harambee will celebrate their 25th anniversary, so we touched base with them to find out how Harambee has grown and changed over the last quarter-century. All photos courtesy the Harambee Cultural Society, by jenniferarmstrongphotography.com

Focus on Adoption and AFABC have always sought to centre adoptee voices and perspectives, but the #FlipTheScript campaign (launched during Adoption Awareness Month in 2014) inspired us to launch a regular column called "Adopted Voice." The series ran from 2015 to 2016.

Here are some of the articles from our long-running Diary of an Adoptive Mom series. This adoptive mother shares her experiences and secret thoughts of raising three children. This series ran from 2006 to 2010.

Note: Diary entries #1 to #7 are unavailable 

We Are Adopted is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to serving and promoting the interests of adopted people of all ages. They support the exploration of personal and shared experiences for adopted and fostered people through regular meetups, workshops, speakers, resources, and community connections. Visit them and connect at weareadopted.ca.

Young people are making waves around the world, advocating for the rights they deserve. Kyla is one of those youths, speaking up for adopted youth and parents everywhere on behalf of the #TimeToAttach campaign. 

As if the back to school routine isn’t busy enough for families, there is also the added stress for parents of children with special needs to participate in Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings for each of their children. Here are 10 tips to help you go in with a positive attitude, a collaborative mindset, and a plan of action.

Advocating for your child’s needs at school is a key part of an adoptive parent’s “job description.” In this article, teacher and parent Alison Wagler shares her tips on how to work with the school as an ally, not an adversary.

One memorable Halloween at the school where I teach, a parent kindly offered to bring in a smoke machine to make the Halloween party more exciting. The party became exciting indeed when the smoke set off the fire alarm, sending 400 kids in costumes out into the rain for an unplanned fire drill.

In 2017, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption released a ground-breaking new study of Canadian attitudes and behaviours towards adoption and foster care. The comprehensive document is packed with research and insights, but since it’s also almost 80 pages long, we’ve put together this brief overview of its key findings.

An interview with adult ally and youth in care advocate Violet-Rose Pharoah.

What inspires you to make art and be a part of art projects that focus on the experiences of foster care?

As someone who is naturally quiet and introverted, I find that art provides the opportunity for me to explore and express my feelings. My involvement with art projects focused on foster care stems from my own personal lived experience, as well as the belief that art is a powerful transformational tool in creating change.