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Help Wanted: LGBT Families To Adopt

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Britain has certainly moved forward over the last few years, accepting that our families have amazingly loving homes and have the same ability to provide support to children as heterosexually coupled families.


The country’s first ever National LGBT Adoption and Fostering Week kicked off this past week highlighting powerful stories of adoption and foster families as well as the localities and organizations that are on the forefront of helping all children find homes that are loving. This is at a time when gay adopters and foster parents are being viewed in a different light, not only by those empowered to place the children, such as social workers and commissioners but also by the public who are beginning to see the reality of excluding loving homes, even those parented by gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender couples.

In recent surveys that were done at the behest of New Family Social there was a great amount of support and recognition for the strengths of LGBT couples.

In a recent press release by the organizers of LGBT AF Week they point out that “at a time when adoption figures are at a 10 year low, a new study shows lesbian and gay people often have the right mix of skills and experience to raise children who have been in  care, and give them a great new start in life.”

72% of social workers surveyed saw the “amount of energy and enthusiasm” LGBT adopters bring to the process as a significant strength.

76% saw “openness to difference, and supporting a child with a sense of difference” as equally important.

For a long time, LGBT people tended to be seen as a “last resort” when placing children. Now adoption and fostering agencies see them as having a key role to play in meeting the urgent need for more new homes for children in care.

Considering itself as a campaign that is working to recruit LGBT couples that perhaps in the past have been denied or turned away or those who have recently become able to foster or adopt children, the LGBT AF Week is working hard with events that are making all sides of the issues facing displaced children.

Hugh Thornbery, Strategic Director of Children’s Services at Action for Children, says
“Over the years, our LGBT foster carers and adopters have helped to transform many
children’s lives. We welcome more applications from LGBT foster carers and adopters; the
main thing is that you are able to give children and young people the care and support
they need to be happy and fulfilled.”

Andy Leary-May, Director of New Family Social, says: “More and more LGBT people are
choosing adoption and fostering as a way to form a family, and we want prospective
parents to see just how rewarding it can be, and how much advice and support is on offer
from our huge community of families around the UK. The fact that so many agencies want to recruit from the LGBT community show just how far things have come in the past 5 or 6 years.  Social workers are becoming more aware of our strengths, and we are being treated more fairly, and are being matched with children more quickly”.

It is a great joy that many are becoming involved in the process of supporting the public system that cares for children. On their website they highlight stories of successful couples such as Lee and Stuart. Both came to the decision after much reflection and thought and approached it as being able to become a foster home that would be able to help as many children as possible giving them the ability to experience a happy and safe home, even if it was for a brief period of time.

One of the greatest trends is that it isn’t just larger centers that are opening up their adoption policies and becoming progressive. Suffolk County in England, with a total population for the whole county of just under 750,000, has moved towards LGBT supportive adoption.

Suffolk County Council’s fostering and adoption services believe the LGBT community is a huge, untapped resource of potential adopters and foster carers.

In a local article published this past week, Graham Newman, the council’s portfolio holder for children, schools and young people’s services, said: “It’s important that Suffolk County Council recruits adopters and foster carers from all walks of life to provide much-needed homes for Suffolk’s vulnerable children. We’re supporting this year’s campaign in an effort to encourage more people from the LGBT community to come forward and consider this life-changing opportunity. Over the last few years, Suffolk’s adoption agency has approved and successfully placed children with gay and lesbian adopters, and we hope this year’s campaign will encourage more people to come forward.”

At a time when there are growing divides in the United States as well as Canada between right wing religious groups and the LGBT and socially progressive communities, it is great to see that there are agencies who are working towards what is right and not the best talking point.

Perhaps someone would like to inform NOM, the National Organization For Marriage, and Maggie Gallagher that the world isn’t collapsing and children are being loved and cared for … yes, by LGBT couples.

Image by Stephanie Haynes

 

Growing up in Northern Ontario as a Jehovah’s Witness, Michael Talon experienced firsthand the struggle for equality. Now living in the U.S. he works with advocates for federal equality, including immigration. Michael currentlty owns and operates OnRecord Media, which works with LGBT supportive companies and organizations helping to create an economy and political atmosphere that focuses on inclusive policies and employment.

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News

Congressman Conway? Top Trump Critic Reportedly Eyeing House Bid

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2 hours ago

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November 13, 2025

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George Conway, the prominent attorney, Trump critic, and ex-husband of former Trump White House senior counselor Kellyanne Conway, may be considering a run for Congress.

According to a report at CNN and a post by New York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni, Conway is eyeing a run for retiring Democratic U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler’s New York district.

CNN reported that Conway, 62, is “actively considering running for Congress from New York City, a source familiar with the matter tells CNN.”

Karni reported, “the Conway pitch being — what the House will need next year is an aggressive lawyer with an investigative background just going after Trump.”

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Conway is a former Republican who became an independent in 2018. He has a law degree from Yale, and successfully argued a case before the U.S. Supreme Court, obtaining a unanimous ruling. He is a co-founder of The Lincoln Project and currently co-hosts a podcast at The Bulwark.

Should Democrats retake the majority in the House of Representatives, it’s likely there will be numerous investigations into President Donald Trump and his administration — not to mention possible efforts to impeach the unpopular and controversial Commander in Chief.

Conway would have good company in a primary.

“Jack Schlossberg, former President John F. Kennedy’s grandson, entered the race this week,” CNN noted.

The Daily Beast adds that “much of the buzz around Conway stems from his personal life. While he and his 58-year-old ex-wife, Kellyanne, tried to make their marriage work amid his dramatic political realignment, the couple frequently made headlines. As Kellyanne served as senior counselor to Trump from 2017 to 2020, her husband routinely sounded off on her boss and advisers—including Stephen Miller, whom Kellyanne referred to as one of her ‘best friends’ in the current administration earlier this month.”

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Image by Presia Debauch via Flickr and a CC license

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Melania Trump to Appear With President as Epstein Files Take Center Stage

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November 13, 2025

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First Lady Melania Trump will make a rare appearance with President Donald Trump as the Epstein files crisis continues to take center stage.

The President has been all but radio silent for almost a full day, with the exception of a Wednesday Oval Office appearance where he took no questions from reporters.

“President Trump will be joined by First Lady Melania Trump in the East Room for an executive order signing aimed at expanding opportunities for education, career development, housing, and other resources for young people transitioning from foster care to adulthood,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters.

Leavitt said the initiative is “part of the First Lady’s Fostering the Future efforts, which are a Be Best initiative.”

“In May,” Newsmax reported, “Melania Trump announced a $25 million investment from the Trump administration to support youth aging out of foster care.”

Recently, the President and First Lady appeared together in the United Kingdom at state visit events in September. That month they also appeared together at a 9/11 event at the Pentagon. Late last month they hosted a White House Halloween event.

Thursday’s event is scheduled for 2:00 p.m.

READ MORE: White House Eyes Major Blitz as GOP Voters Blame Trump for Failing Economy

 

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‘Out of Touch’: Eric Trump Blasted for $500 Million Bitcoin Brag

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6 hours ago

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November 13, 2025

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Eric Trump, President Donald Trump’s son in charge of the family’s real estate empire, is under fire for bragging about millions of dollars of bitcoin as millions of Americans struggle to put food on the table, after his father urged the Supreme Court to allow him to not fund SNAP during the shutdown.

Millions of Americans found their SNAP accounts unfunded on November 1. SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, helps about 42 million Americans buy groceries. Most people who use SNAP are elderly, children, disabled, or working more than one job.

“There’s no reason, at 5 o’clock, on a Friday afternoon, you should, you know, I should be able to send out a SWIFT wire transfer,” the middle Trump son lamented to Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo. “You know, right now, you can’t.”

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“I try and make a transfer every single week, and you’re trying to push before the 5 o’clock deadline to either receive money or to get it out. How is that modern day finance?” he complained.

“You can send $500 million worth of Bitcoin on a Sunday night at, you know, at 11:00 p.m. while having a glass of wine with your wife,” Trump explained. “For virtually zero fees.”

“You know, how is the system this lethargic? Why does it take you 120 days to get a, you know, go through, Know Your Customer with your bank? If you want to get a home mortgage, it doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “Cryptocurrency is gonna fix every single one of these issues, and Bitcoin is digital gold.”

“Bitcoin is going to be one of the greatest stores of value we’ve ever seen,” he concluded.

Americans are increasingly dissatisfied with the Trump economy, polls show. Inflation has been on the rise, as have prices at the supermarket. The average cost of a car is now over $50,000. Major corporations have announced or are planning to lay off thousands — or even tens of thousands — of workers. Unemployment is estimated to be up, to a four-year high, per the most recent data. Consumer confidence has dropped to a near-record low. There is a possibility that some parts of the country may already be in a recession, according to one economist.

Critics blasted Trump’s remarks.

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“Just like every normal American does,” The Bulwark’s Colin Jones sarcastically remarked.

“Is that before or after you figure out how you’re going to feed your family without the SNAP payments his father went to the Supreme Court to suspend? Or pay the health care costs his administration has made sure to skyrocket? I just want to get the sequencing right,” wrote Franklin Leonard, founder of the Black List.

“I’m just like Eric. Except on my Sunday nights I’m trying to order my Instacart for the family while the low grade gummy kicks in,” wrote The Bulwark’s Sam Stein.

“Don’t let anyone tell you the Trumps are out of touch with rising costs,” remarked MSNBC’s Matt Fuller.

“Starting to think they may not understand what families going through with higher prices…” commented communications professional Eddie Vale.

“These are the same people who blast Zohran Mamdani for caring about affordability,” noted The Friendly Atheist’s Hemant Mehta.

READ MORE: Trump Stumbles Over ‘God Bless America’ Lyrics at Veterans Day Ceremony

 

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