Adoptees Have Answers – Best Org Ever

AHA Online Support Group

In the News

AHA in Adoption Today

Mary Martin Mason On Canadian Radio

Kate Vogl Reports on Conference in Spain

Orphan Train Riders Seeking Heritage

Center for Family Connections News

In the Arts

Deborah Jiang Stein and The unPrison Project

MN History Center Offering on Boarding Schools

Trending

America’s CHILDHOOD TRAUMA and ACES Impact

Resources and Research

American Adoption Congress Conference

Adoption and Culture Conference

Adoption Initiative Conference

AdopSource Surveys and Upcoming Focus Groups

REMINDER: AHA Online Support Group

AHA recently launched an online support group open to Minnesota adoptees and fosterees over age 18. Registered members are able to interact with one another 24/7 using the discussion board. Adoptees Julie Hart and Amy Fjellman facilitate the group, ‘live’, the first Tuesday of every month from 6 to 7 p.m. CST and check in with the discussion postings periodically. This is a secure environment that generates anonymous usernames to protect the privacy of its members. If you would like the join the conversation, visit this link to fill out four simple questions: We look forward to meeting you!

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Please consider helping us continue our work on behalf of adoptees and fosterees by making a donation.

A Birthfather Story

On February 9, a Canadian radio broadcast featured Aziza Sindhu’s interview with a birthfather who movingly descibed the experience of surrendering twins as a teenager. The radio piece was titled The Boy with the Past. Minnesota Adoption Resource Network’s Mary Martin Mason, author of Stepping Out of the Shadows: Birthfathers Speak Out, contributed to the interview. Listen to the half-hour documentary. Click here to read an article on birthfathers written by Mason.

Local Adoptee Author Presents Memoir at Spanish Conference

VOGL WRITES: This past year, Spain has been in the headlines for forced adoptions. Mothers told their baby was stillborn–though they’d heard the cry–and then not allowed to see the body. The child passed off to a couple who’d been waiting to adopt, who were unwilling to ask too many questions because finally, in their arms, a baby they’d so desperately wanted. Local adoptee and author Kate St. Vincent Vogl recently spoke at a conference organized to help these “lost children” of Spain reconnect with their biological families. Read more about this conference sponsored by AFIN (Adopcions, Familias, Infancias), an affiliate of the University of Barcelona.

Article Reports Increased Interest in Records of Orphan Train Riders

A January article in USA Today reports that children and grandchildren of people who rode orphan trains are seeking information about their relatives’ heritage in ever-increasing numbers. Local author, Renee Wendinger, is among those quoted. Renee has written a book documenting the Orphan Train Era, particularly from the perspective of those who rode trains from New York. See orphan train educational webinars available on the AHA website

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Center For Family Connections Closes in March

On January 26th, Dr.Joyce Pavao, founder and executive director of the Center for Family Connections in Cambridge, MA, announced that the Center will closing its doors after almost 20 years of delivering cutting edge pre- and post-adoption services. Dr. Pavao will continue to serve her clients well under her new brand, PACT — Pre/Post Adoption Consulting and Trainings @ Pavao Consulting and Coaching. She will also be keynoting at several upcoming conferences and seminars. We’re looking forward to much more to come from Dr. Pavao in the future.

The Great Hurt: Understanding Historical Trauma of American Indians

On Monday, March 5, the Minnesota History Center is offering a free performance and workshop. FROM THE MHC WEBSITE: The Great Hurt is a Readers Theatre presenting specific accounts of American Indian boarding school experiences. The workshop was created by Carl Gawboy (Bois Forte Ojibwe), full-time artist/historian and public educator; Cynthia Donner, MSW, Coordinator of the Tribal Sites for The College of St. Scholastica’s Social Work Program in Duluth, MN; and Michelle Robertson, MSW (White Earth Ojibwe), Director of Field Education for The College of St. Scholastica’s Social Work Program in Duluth, MN. Presenters are from a variety of backgrounds. This educational offering with follow-up discussion will run from 10 to 2 PM. Advance registration is required before February 27, 2012.

Adoption and Culture Conference Coming up in March

The Alliance for the Study of Adoption and Culture announces the 4th International Conference on Adoption and Culture, “Mapping Adoption: Histories, Geographies, Literatures, Politics,” March 22-25, 2012 at the Claremont Colleges, Claremont, CA. This conference deals with the experiences, institutions, cultural meanings, and political locations of adoption, fostering, assisted reproduction, and various other process of removing children from parental custody. Many prominent Minnesota adoptees will be presenting including Jennifer Kwon Dobbs, Kim Park Nelson, Shannon Gibney and Soojim Pate. (Apologies to those I accidentally omitted!) The deadline for reduced rates for registration ($80) and for the hotel is February 28, 2012.

New York Conference Call for Papers

The Adoption Initiative is calling for papers for their 7th biennial adoption conference to be held at St. John’s University in Manhattan, NY, October 18 through 20, 2012. “Best Interests of the Child? Race Religion and Rescue in Adoption” is this year’s theme. Papers can be submitted online.

Local International Adoptee Survey

Local international adoptee organization, AdopSource, is conducting online surveys for teen and adult adoptees and parents of international adoptees. Check out their website to take the survey. Stay tuned for follow-up focus group announcements in late March, April, May and July.

Books

Adoptees Have Answers has received several requests to recommend books this month. This is a reminder that there AHA has a list of recommended reading on the website.

http://www.aha.mn