Join the Long Island AGAPE team for a fun filled night of connection created specifically for youths, aged 17 and under, who:

:

• are adopted
• have been in foster care
• are in kinship care,
• are in custody with anyone other than a biological parent
• are in a guardianship arrangement

Many children joining families today have had a pretty rough start in life and have considerable healing to do. Children adopted by relatives or kin may have divided loyalties and difficulty sorting out family dynamics. Children who have been in the foster care system often do not understand the transition from foster care to adoption. Even those who joined their adoptive family shortly after birth may experience feelings of confusion, ambivalence, or abandonment. Children coming from other countries face the realities of adoption as well as loss of many aspects of their culture, including language, food, and ethnic connections.

• Meet and interact with kids who’ve had similar experiences
• Gain insight into some of their own behaviors and reactions to family issues
• Meet other children who look like them (for transracially adopted children)
• Feel less isolated and alone
• Increase their self-esteem