LBGT support group

LGBT Adoptive & Foster Parenting Group

The Home for Little Wanderers is excited to announce that in November we will be starting a free monthly parenting group for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) foster and adoptive parents and a concurrent group for the children of participating parents.

Are you are interested in having a group of peers with whom you could talk about issues that affect you and your family including:

* finding LGBT-friendly medical, mental health & educational providers,

* integrating your children's birth family (or lack thereof) into your family,

* ensuring your children's schools are inclusive of foster/adoptive family structures and LGBT family constellations,

* helping your kids respond to homophobia?

Facilitators Rosemary Broadbent and Colby Berger encourage you to bring ideas for any topics or questions that the group wants to address so as to tailor the structure of our sessions to the needs of the participants. We will ask that participants make a commitment to regularly attend meetings in order to create a cohesive group.

What's even better, we'll also be offering a concurrent group for your children to talk about many of the issues that they might encounter in school, with peers, extended family, etc. (read: your participation in the parenting group is not contingent on finding a babysitter - bring your kids and they'll have fun and learn with peers who also have LGBT parents)! The youth group will be lead by a social worker who has experience working in the LGBT community. We will also provide childcare for the youngest kids who aren't yet able to participate in the youth group.

Details of the meetings:

Who: LGBT foster and adoptive parents and your kids

What: Monthly parenting group with concurrent youth group & child care + dinner

When: The 2nd Thursday of every month from 6-7:30pm. First meeting is November 8th

Where: The Home for Little Wanderers site in Jamaica Plain - 161 South Huntington Avenue

*******(free parking!)*******

Why: LGBT Foster and Adoptive parents often wish they had a place to connect with other folks in the community in order to share resources, get support, socialize (and have the benefit of dinner plus free childcare!)

NOTE: The first meeting on November 8th will be PARENTS ONLY. We will give you a chance to meet the professional facilitators who will be running each group and providing childcare, but we will have an adults only session the first month in order to talk about the structure of the groups and elicit your input. Childcare and the youth group will begin at the following monthly meeting on December 13th.

Please confirm your interest in participating by October 22nd to Rosemary Broadbent: rbroadbent@thehome.org <mailto:rbroadbent@thehome.org> or call 617.264.5370 and let us know how many parents to expect from your family on 11/8 and the names & ages of your child(ren) so that we may begin planning for our youth group's first meeting on 12/13.