The Adoption Roots & Rights' Story
New group aims to reunite biological parents and children
Dorchester Signpost, Dorchester, Ontario - March 30, 1994- By Eric Schmiedl
Adoptees who want to find their biological parents can start the search by looking here.
Adoption Roots & Rights, a new organization serving the local area, can help in a quest to find birth parents or grown-up children. Membership in the group is only open to people 18 and over, said Dorchester resident Fay Rath, one of the Adoption Roots & Rights organizers. Hopefully, people 18 and older are ready to deal with a biological parent/child meeting, she explained.
The group meets the last Thursday of each month at Christ Anglican Church, 138 Wellington Rd. S. in London, at 7:30 p.m. The first meeting, which will serve as an informational session, goes ahead March 31. Adoption Roots & Rights is open to adult adoptees, birth parents, birth siblings, adults who grew up in foster homes, and adoptive parents.
"It's a newly-formed group, to help put the pieces of the puzzle back together again."
Rath, who placed her baby girl up for adoption years ago, knows first-hand the problems of finding a child who was put up for adoption. She and her biological daughter were reunited more than eight years ago.
"I learned on a Monday she was looking for me, then met her on Tuesday," Rath recalled.
"It's scary," she said, as she didn't know what kind of reception her birth daughter would give her. Although the two do not share a mother-daughter relationship, things worked out well.
"She and I are really good friends."
In the years since giving her daughter up for adoption, Rath adopted four other children. They too have gone through the reunion process, and those meetings were all positive as well. "They made the decision (to meet their biologcal parents) on their own," said Rath.
Continued...
Adoption Roots & Rights held their inaugural meeting at Christ Anglican Church, London, Ontario on Thursday, March 31, 1994. Co-Ordinators, reunited adoptees Wendie and Lynne and reunited birth mother and adoptive parent of four reunited adoptees Fay, welcomed and answered questions from twenty-five people who attended.
Update...
Meetings are no longer being held but guidance and direction is still available by calling 1-519-268-3674 or email fayrath@execulink.com