(Photo of Connor and his brother Jacob)
As November marks National adoption month, many people across South Yorkshire have been raising awareness for adoption and the impact it can have.
Connor Woodroffe, 20, from Sheffield was adopted along with his younger brother Jacob, at just four years old.
He said: “Being adopted has shaped my whole life completely. Because I was adopted at such a young age, I have spent four fifths of my life with a different family.
“I was very young at the time, but what I do remember is how vulnerable I felt in a family that didn’t care for me. I was put into foster care with my brother when I was two.
“Being adopted was the best thing that ever happened to us. We went from a struggling family that couldn’t look after us, parents who abused alcohol and drugs, to a loving mum and dad who wanted to give us everything we never had.
“I was given an opportunity by a new family to live a happy life with a safe upbringing. Had I not been adopted; I would be a very different person today.”
One Adoption South Yorkshire (OASY) are a Doncaster based charity, who have also been spreading awareness for children who need adopting.
Across the region, people have been celebrating the families that have been created through the process of adoption and revealing their personal stories on how to help others who may be looking to adopt.
There were many events to could get involved in, including online forums and webinars for newly adoptive parents to listen to advice, as well as free workshops.
One Adoption South Yorkshire social worker for recruitment and assessment, Shamim Raj, said: “Children need families. We have children who need support training and help for life. They are very vulnerable.”
Recent figures show that there are currently 61 children of all ages who are waiting for a safe, caring and permanent home in South Yorkshire.
They said: “We still have a long way to go in terms of increasing the number of children entering new families, but National Adoption month and all the local events that have been ongoing have certainly helped educate families and encourage them that adopting a child really can have such a positive impact on their future life.”
In South Yorkshire, 56 per cent of children awaiting adoption come from certain groups who can face lengthy delays in finding a permanent home.
These groups include children aged five and older, children with special needs and those from ethnic minority backgrounds.
Woodroffe also said how important adopting is: “So many children are mistreated, or their parents are unable to look after them and they end up suffering from there actions, I’ve seen it happen first at first hand.
“Adopting is the best method possible for giving that child a second chance in life, a chance that every child no matter what background they have come from deserves.
“Every child deserves the opportunity to feel loved and that sense of home and belonging, something I was luckily given and forever grateful for.
“Adoption needs to be seen in more of a positive light instead of a second option. Just like how it has changed my life and given me the motivation to achieve something in this world, it should be like that for every child who has struggled with their upbringing.”
One Adoption South Yorkshire’s website can be found here.