Adoptive Families Support Group

Are you an adoptive family or prospective adoptive family who sometimes feels like you are all alone in this journey of adoption?  Does anybody understand what you are going through?  Have other people felt like this before?  Am I normal (well, nobody can be held responsible for answering that question)?  An Adoptive Family Support Group might just be the perfect place for you to explore these questions that are very familiar to the adoption process.

I know, I know - one's first instinct is NO, not me, I don't need a support group, I don't need some kind of group therapy about adoption, that's the LAST thing that can help me.  If you haven't tried it....just give it a chance.  There are so many benefits to an Adoptive Family Support Group which include identifying with others who are in or have been in a similar situation, building friendships with other families who can relate to your personal experiences, gaining access to a wealth of first-hand and personal information that comes from real-life experiences in adoption, and allowing yourself to be encouraged by those who DO understand how you are feeling.  Many times, relationships that begin in a support group develop into lifelong friendships that provide positive peer relationships for children who have joined families through adoption.  Most adoption groups are informal with a very welcoming environment that offers attendees the immediate benefit of knowing that you are not alone.

There is an active Adoptive Families Support Group in Lynchburg that is hosted and led by two families who have adopted through Family Life Services:  Dean & Kathy and Clayton & Robyn.  The group is not sponsored or connected formally with our agency, yet we support it in every way and feel that their group is an incredible resource for adoptive families or waiting families.  The group meets six times a year on the odd months (January, March, May, etc.) and is an adult-only group on the 4th Tuesday of each month from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m.  The  next group is on March 23rd at Clayton & Robyn's home.  In addition to the adult groups, they have some family activites scheduled for this year including a picnic in June, a swimming party in August, and possibly a craft time in the fall for children.  If you do not receive emails from Kathy with information about this group and you would like to, please email me at dhamlette@liberty.edu and I will pass along your information to her to be added to the list.

Maybe you have information about an Adoptive Families Support Group in another area that you would like to share?