News & Updates

I like to say that my hearing loss was a divine intervention, as I had a village of support from school who were involved in my personal life. Otherwise, I would have been like thousands of children today who come from broken homes, get lost in a crowd and become invisible, preventing any interventions. Growing up in a world of instability, I faced the challenge of navigating multiple intersecting identities, including my cultural heritage, my sexuality and my disability as a hard-of-hearing woman. As someone who found permanency through adoption just weeks before turning 18, I know that the journey doesn’t end with finding a home—it’s just the beginning of a new chapter filled with nuances. It took time and support to understand and embrace these parts of myself, especially after years of feeling disconnected from my roots and struggling to find acceptance. Post-permanency services are crucial for offering a safe space where young people like me can explore their identities and find a sense of belonging in their new environments. 
 
Beyond identity, there’s also the weight of trauma that many youth carry into their adoptive or guardian homes. Unpacking that trauma, particularly feelings of abandonment, required me to confront and dismantle deep-rooted beliefs that I wasn’t deserving of love or stability. It’s a process that requires time, patience, and professional support. Through therapy and a village of support, I slowly began to understand that my past didn’t have to define my future. 
 
Adapting to a new family dynamic presented its own set of challenges. Coming into a home where love was unconditional, and stability was a given was both comforting and daunting. I had to learn to trust that this new chapter wasn’t temporary and that I wouldn’t be let go when things got tough. This adjustment from surviving to learning to thrive—was made possible by the ongoing support I received, allowing me to develop a healthy relationship with my adoptive family and build a sense of security. Post-permanency services are essential in helping children and families navigate these complexities, ensuring that the promise of permanency is upheld through every stage of their journey. 

Having post-adoption services has been vital to the success of my family.  My children have needed different kinds of support at different ages and stages of their lives which we could not have predicted early in our relationships with them. Among our five children (adopted through kinship care and through foster care), five have needed ongoing trauma-informed, adoption-competent mental health counseling, three have needed occupational therapy, two have needed speech therapy, one has needed dialectical behavior therapy, four have needed specialized tutoring in multiple areas, two have needed long-term specialized medical care.  As we meet these needs, and transport these children, and make time in lives where we also work and go to school and are active in our community, we have needed practical help and to lean on people who understand.  We cannot do this alone.