An adoptive mum from Newham is starting a support group for adoptive families who live in the borough.

Katy, 39, hopes Newham Adopters will provide an opportunity for families to share their experiences and have fun together.

“Although there are family support groups for East London they are mainly in Willesden Forest which is quite a long trek from Newham so it is nice to link with other families who live in the borough,” she said. “We received a Let’s Get it Started grant from Newham Council and that is really what we are trying to do because although adopting is a parenting experience, there are differences to other parenting so it is nice to have people to share that with.”

The launch event on March 30 will include time to play and a buffet.

Katy knew that she wanted to adopt from an early age after finding out that she was unable to have children when she was a teenager.

“When I was 21 I went to work in a Russian orphanage for a few weeks and that experience really stayed with me,” Katy said. “I really felt like adoption was the right way forward for me as opposed to IVF.

“After I met my husband Aidan he agreed that there are lots of children out there who need homes and we felt that we could offer them one.”

She says adopting their four-year-old son has been “the most wonderful thing” that they have ever done, and hopes to adopt again in the near future.

“We loved our son immediately,” she said. “Often the children come from difficult backgrounds and they haven’t had the best starts in life but they are children and they have all got their own personalities and so much potential.

“Now I can’t imagine my son growing up in foster care or a children’s home and hopefully we have given him a better life.”

For more information about the Newham Adopters family event, including venue, email newhamadopters@hotmail.co.uk or call 07743 386477. People who are unable to attend this event but would be interested in future events are also welcome to get in contact.