Encompass Adoptees

09/03/2026

Is anyone able to help spread news about this new much needed org, launching today on 1 Sept. It's goal is to raise funds for intercountry adoptees to be able to access funding for Return to Birth Country visits?

This org is led by Indian USA intercountry adoptee Ian Forber-Pratt and a sister org to the existing The Ties Program led by Korean USA intercountry adoptee Tanya Kaanta.

I am so looking forward to the impact this org will have on our global community. Yes the intention is to have the funding avail to everyone around the world. So please spread the word. ICAV is an endorsing org and I have also connected closely with both Tanya and Ian for decades. They have proven to be trustworthy, honest, and ethical adoptees supporting our community for years.

To learn more about this new org, click on this link.

https://www.google.com/url?q=http://thetiesfoundation.org/icav&source=gmail&ust=1787854254605000&sa=E

09/03/2026

https://www.linkedin.com/posts/together-with-coram-and-great-ormond-street-share-7500961016822800385-AwpF?utm_medium=ios_app&rcm=ACoAAArEGdEBpfSQSodIfEeKMkdDwwu54cTfDO4&utm_source=social_share_send&utm_campaign=messages

Together with Coram and Great Ormond Street Hospital, we conducted a longitudinal study following children adopted early in life, and children adopted later following experiences of maltreatment and adversity. We stayed with them from placement through childhood and adolescence into early adulthood....

07/30/2026

Join us for a viewing of Shannon Quist ‘s TEDx Talk and a follow up conversation with her on the topic of why adoption and abortion are often conflated as two opposing options in American discourse.

The discussion will include the political and religious histories of both adoption and abortion plus explore some frameworks and additional resources for those interested in learning more about the dissonance between the stories we tell on nightly news and the reality of reproductive choices available to families. 

Register at adoptionknowledge.org EDUCATION EVENTS

06/27/2026

“Everything depends on the individual human being, regardless of how small a number of like-minded people there is… on each person… creatively making the meaning of life a reality…

06/14/2026

One week to go until our Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon!

Together with Adoptees United Inc., we invite everyone in the adoption constellation to join us next Sunday, June 21st.

Wikipedia shapes public understanding, but when it comes to adoption, too many entries are outdated, incomplete, inaccurate, or missing adoptee perspectives. Together, we can help improve adoption-related pages and bring greater accuracy, context, and lived experience to one of the world’s most-used sources of information.

Let’s center adoptee voices and work toward a more complete and truthful representation of adoption. Everyone in the adoption constellation is welcome!

📅 Sunday, June 21st�🕐 1pm PT (4pm ET)�💻 Online

Register and join us! https://bit.ly/wiki-edit-June2026

06/01/2026

Community Dinner 🥗

Join us for a casual evening of good food and conversation with other adult adoptees, fostered, and kinshipped people. This is a relaxed, welcoming space to connect with the community, no pressure, no structured discussion topics, just time together.

🗓️ Thursday, June 4th, 2026
⏱️ 6:30 P.M. - 7:30 P.M.
📍 East Market
212 Kelton Ave, Columbus, OH

Choose dinner from any of the East Market vendors and join us at a table to eat and chat! This group typically meets on the first Thursday of the month, though be sure to check the schedule beforehand.

New to the group? Feel free to reach out beforehand through our website or by contacting Heather.
📧 [email protected]
📞 614.600.6183

This is a casual dinner, a time to enjoy good food and good conversations, with other adult adopted, fostered, and/or kinshipped people. This group usually meets every first Thursday of the month and usually meets at the Market — but CHECK the schedule because we occasionally change this up around

05/22/2026

Taekyung Tanja Inwol discusses her second feature documentary, which premiered at CPH:DOX, the challenges of being both filmmaker and protagonist, and her unusual but memorable visual choices.

05/21/2026

Adult Adoptee Book Group 📚

Join us tonight for a discussion group created to support adult adoptees through open conversation, shared experiences, and community. Discussions will center around sections of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘳𝘪𝘮𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥 and explore topics related to adoption, relinquishment, identity, and healing.

🗓️ Thursday, May 21st, 2026
⏱️ 6:30 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.
📍 Encompass Adoptees
122 S Terrace Ave, Columbus, OH

This group is facilitated by adult adoptees and offers a welcoming space for honest discussion, questions, and connection. Feel free to bring dinner or a snack.
RSVP appreciated but not required.

To find more information, please visit https://www.encompassadoptees.org/events-list/adultadopteebookgroup1.

ABOUT : This is a 5-part casual discussion group meant to support adult adoptees. Conversations will revolve around a section of the book. We use books to help us cover a larger variety of topics related to adoption, to increase our knowledge and awareness of the information that is out there, and

05/20/2026

Have you registered yet?
Please join us May 21st for a special online event with Dr. Liz DeBetta!!
8-9:30 pm Eastern (7 central/5 pacific--please note the time zone)
Open to everyone.
Free for AKA Members/ $12 for non-members
(scholarships are always available- email [email protected])
ABOUT THE EVENT: Adoption is often framed as an act of love, yet for many adoptees, that love is inextricably intertwined with loss. This session introduces un-m-othered as a way of naming the layered relational ruptures that shape the adoptee experience—between adoptees and first mothers, adoptive mothers, and within the self. Drawing on narrative, embodiment, and lived experience, this workshop explores how the absence of language sustains disconnection, and how reclaiming more honest, nuanced language can support integration, relational repair, and a shift from survival toward wholeness.

05/18/2026

Why do so many adoptees become high achievers?

Why are so many of us driven, overfunctioning, perfectionistic, workaholic, hyper-independent, or constantly trying to prove our worth?

And what if some of the very things the world applauds in adoptees are actually rooted in survival?

Tonight on Adoptee Restoration, I’m sharing a deeply personal piece about trauma, overachievement, success, pain, and the hidden emotional cost many adoptees quietly carry underneath competence.

Read the post here: https://substack.com//note/p-198078347?r=1wedez&utm_medium=ios&utm_source=notes-share-action