Less Orphans - Part 3

Helping through Adoption without Adopting


In our two previous posts here and here, we have discussed international orphan prevention and US orphan prevention. There is a final way you can support vulnerable children, and that is to support adoption. You can do so by adopting a child, but you can also do so by supporting an adoptive family. 

“Support” does not always have to be financial. Support could mean that you volunteer to babysit kids who are already home while adoptive parents fill out adoption paperwork, have a stress-free, paperwork-free date night, run errands, or meet with home study agencies. When children come home to their forever families, support could also mean that you take their grocery list to a store to shop for them or you go to their house to do laundry or clean. Support could mean you bring them a precooked or frozen meal. There will be so many things going on when their child(ren) come home that a meal will be greeted with a warm welcome.


Financial support is also extremely helpful, particularly in both international and private domestic adoption, where costs often exceed $30,000. (I doubt that anyone would turn you down if you offered financial support, particularly those of us who have endured an extra-long adoption process.) Adoption is almost never a cut-and-dry process, as the parents who are adopting from DRC are learning. Usually, that means extra expenses will pop up. We HATE asking for money, but if you have some extra and feel inclined to bless others with it, adoptive parents would almost always appreciate a nice financial surprise. Many families often have accounts set up with non-profit organizations so they can even accept tax-deductible donations.


Lastly, advocate. Many people do not even know about orphan problems, systematic problems that create debilitating situations for families, or the hundreds of thousands of children waiting for families. Most adoptive families began their process as a result of learning about a problem that we didn’t even know existed in years prior. Once we learned about it, however, we felt compelled to act. That means the more we advocate for at-risk children and families, the more people we will have to help solve the problems that make them at-risk. Advocacy is a huge player in the fight against the orphan crisis.


Do you have experience, talents, knowledge, skills, extra time or extra money you can use to help in one of the ways listed above? You’ve been given those things for a reason, and you’re reading this post for a reason. You definitely don’t have to adopt to make a difference. Say yes to serving and giving to orphan care wherever you’ve been called.


-JL

Less Orphans - Part 2

One of the best ways we can help orphans—now and in the future—is to do all we can to prevent their existence. In our last post we discussed ways we can work toward preventing children from becoming orphans in developing countries. Today we will discuss efforts that can be made right here in the US.


The first step in preventing the existence of orphans is to support women facing unplanned pregnancies. There are hundreds of pregnancy care centers around the nation that exist to provide financial, emotional, and educational assistance to women and couples who are facing unplanned pregnancies. These organizations can always use financial assistance, but they are also always seeking volunteers to help mentor young women, check in clients, help with medical evaluations, and support them in annual fundraising events. Consider contacting your local pregnancy care center to donate time or money.


You may also want to consider a domestic private adoption. This is an adoption within the United States apart from the foster care system.  Often times, an open adoption occurs, where a birth mother and/or father chooses a family to adopt their child, and they maintain some kind of relationship.  This can be a way to support a birth parent and build a relationship while adopting. Open adoptions often create lifelong bonds between birth parents, adoptive parents, and the children they all love. (On a personal note, my husband and I have a great relationship with our son’s birth mom, and we are excited to see how our son’s relationship with her develops over the years. We didn’t even think we wanted an open adoption, but it has blessed us in innumerable ways.)


The US also has an extensive network of foster care systems in place to help children and families who are at risk. The intent of foster care is to keep first families together, although that doesn’t always happen. You can help in this quest by getting certified as a foster care provider. We are facing a serious shortage of foster parents at the moment, which leads to an increased number of children in group homes, outside the grasp of a loving family. This tragic situation is cyclical, as the children raised without the care of a loving family are more likely to have children who then enter foster care as well. You can help these children by becoming a foster parent. You must take some training classes and complete a home study, but you can change the life of a child or children in monumental ways. (An added bonus to you: Training, home studies, supplies and medical care is free for those taking in foster children and adopting children from the State.) It’s hard work, but well worth it, particularly to the children you will grow to love. Some foster children go back to their birth families, which is the goal of foster care. Other precious kiddos, however, will become available for adoption and may just join foster families permanently, giving them a family to love them forever.


If foster care isn’t an option, but you feel called to help the foster system in a different way, you can train to provide respite care for foster families. This means you will attend educational seminars and get a home study to provide short-term care for children in foster care while foster families go out of town or when foster parents need a date night. It is an easy way to serve those who are serving vulnerable children.


Right here, in our own backyards, there are so many ways to prevent children from becoming orphans or to intervene in the lives of children who are already orphaned.  If this post tugs at your heart in any way, please don't hesitate to start pursuing one of the options mentioned above.

-JL