WHEN: 1st Thursday of each month, beginning 11/2-23, from 7:00-8:30 PM(EST)

WHERE: Zoom

COST: FREE!

Adult Adopteen Support Group
C.A.S.E. Adult Adoptee Support Group (First Thursdays, 7 pm EST)
In honor of National Adoption Month, C.A.S.E. is excited to launch the
Adult Adoptee Support Group, a support group for adult adoptees over
18. In this monthly group facilitated by adult adoptees Tony Hynes and
Rachel Shifaraw, adoptees will share, build community, and learn from
other adoptees as they explore their experiences. In acknowledging
the lifelong journey of adoption, the Adult Adoptee Support Group
fosters an environment where participants will be able to voice some
of the challenges, triumphs, and identity work unique to adult
adoptees. We look forward to seeing you there!

ABOUT THE FACILIATORS:

Tony, a former foster youth and adoptee, was adopted by a same sex
couple in the mid 1990’s. He writes about his experiences growing up
as both an interracial adoptee and as a child growing up in a same sex
headed household in his memoir “The Son With Two Moms.”
Today, Tony is an advocate for families like his, having served on the
Board of Directors for organizations that serve to highlight adoptive
families from diverse upbringings, and working with individual families
in both pre and post adoptive placements. A thought leader in the field
of adoption, Tony has been invited to be a speaker at conferences on
adoption and foster care throughout the nation, especially those
involving interracial placements. Tony completed his Masters thesis in
Sociology on the psychology of children within the same sex headed
household in 2013, and in the fall of 2017 was awarded a full
scholarship to begin his PhD studies in Language, Literacy, and Culture
at the Univ. of Maryland Baltimore County, where he has begun work
on his dissertation, which focuses on social connectedness among
interracial adoptees. In his time as Training Specialist at C.A.S.E, Tony
has designed innovative training curriculums that help families and
professionals respond to evaluation and assessment tools that
encapsulate holistic pictures of adoptees and foster youth.

Rachel Shifaraw was internationally adopted from Santiago, Chile at 6 weeks of age. She has lived in Maryland ever since & currently resides in Frederick with her husband & four children. Rachel has a Bachelor’s Degree in Forensic Psychology from Trinity University in Washington, DC & an Associate of Applied Science from Montgomery College in Rockville, Maryland. Rachel came to C.A.S.E. with a writing contribution that was published in the Beneath The Mask Workbook & she has been passionate about working with the organization from that day forward. Rachel joined the Emerging Leaders Council in hopes of giving a voice of lived adoption experience to assist C.A.S.E. in their mission of offering adoption support. When not busy with her family or small pet care company, Rachel spends her time writing descriptive stories & hanging out with animals on the local Frederick farms.