More LGBTQ+ families asked to consider adoption

A dad from West Yorkshire who adopted a son with his husband said he wants to reassure members of the LGBTQ+ community who might be considering adoption that "support is there throughout the process".

When Will Butterworth and his partner adopted a decade ago, he said it felt quite unusual for same-sex couples to have children.

But according to One Adoption, which supports parents across Yorkshire and the Humber, 23% of those they approved last year identified as LGBTQ+.

Michelle Rawlings from the organisation told the BBC she wants to dispel the "myth that people from the LGBTQ+ community can't adopt".

Before starting the adoption process, Butterworth and his husband said they had a notion children were "not for them".

"I don't know why, it might have been because in the community we were part of it wasn't a big thing particularly."

But as the couple found out more about the process, they realised it was something they really wanted to do and adopted their son when he was four years old.

"That was a bit of an advantage as we didn't have to go through nappy training and could talk and chat straight away, which was great."

For other people considering adoption he said people "should be prepared to be an open book and share every aspect of your life".

Over the years, Butterworth said there had been challenges to being a same-sex parent.

"Sometimes on holiday I can feel people staring and drilling into the back of his head.

"But I don't care, I look at my son and see how much fun he is having and when I see him playing with other children, they don't care either."

He said having a child made him more aware of the important things in life.

"Seeing him achieve things and do things we didn't think he'd be able to do has surprised us and the fact we have enabled that to happen, that feels nice," he said.

There are currently more than 100 children in West Yorkshire waiting for an adoptive family.

Rawlings from One Adoption, which provides services across all five West Yorkshire councils, said: "People worry about adopting as a single person, as couples, as a trans person, but the reality is we welcome people coming forward from those communities to adopt.

"There are misconceptions that people need a certain amount of income or savings but it isn't true.

"You don't need a garden, you don't need a big house and all those things people believe are barriers to coming forward aren't true. You just need a safe and stable home."

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