A new campaign has been launched this week to help break down common misconceptions about adoption.
It is estimated that around 5,000 children are without a family in the UK and today marks the start of the first ever Regional Adoption Week, with people being encouraged to ‘bust the myths’ over who can adopt.
A total of 23 voluntary agencies from the North West, including Merseyside, are taking part in the week-long campaign with the full support of their local authorities.
A large percentage of the children up for adoption within the North West are without families due to an early life struggle in some of the most deprived areas.
It is often desired that these children are rehomed within the local authority.
Voluntary agencies are fortunate in that they receive considerable funding from the government, meaning they have a wide range of resources to help rehome these children.
Rachel Walker, a spokesperson for Adoption Matters NW, told JMU Journalism: “Although the project is being pushed by local authorities, voluntary agencies play an important role.
“We don’t deal directly with placing children but we help try and find suitable parents.”
There are more than 600 children in the North West region alone who are currently awaiting a new family and agencies such as Adoption Matters NW are continuously working to lower this number.
The TV and radio campaign ‘Adopt North West’ aims to encourage more people to come forward.
It will feature information to educate those people who may have previously wrongly ruled themselves out as an unsuitable candidate.
Ms Walker added: “I would like to think it will be very successful. We struggle with outdated views and so the scheme will help to dispel those myths.”
Additional reporting by Laura Ryder
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