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Meet "The Johnson Five"
November is National Adoption Awareness Month
By Mia Chamberlain @missmiafaith
The Johnson children on their adoption day.
While all adoption-related issues are important, the particular focus of this month is the adoption of children living in foster care. In North Carolina, more than 12,000 children are part of the foster care system, and more than 500 youth age out of foster care each year without finding a permanent adoptive family.
These children are in need of a family to love, nurture, and protect them. They come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have special needs, some are part of a sibling group, and many are older children or teenagers.
Often the public is unaware of these children and the realities of adoption. National Adoption Awareness Month provides organizations, including Children’s Home Society of NC, with a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness.
Doris and Shemroy Johnson are experienced parents of two adult children. They felt they had been blessed with their daughters and that their home and hearts were big enough to offer a set of children a safe and nurturing forever home. They had both come from large, close-knit families, so they embarked on a journey to make a difference in the lives of a group of siblings.
They never thought twice about bringing five children into their home through adoption. “So many children need homes, and siblings are the hardest to place,” said Doris Johnson. “We knew if it were meant to be, everything would work out. Then the door flew open, and it was the right time.”
Imani, 11, Jelani, 9, Amina, 7, Denzel, 6, and Rex, 4, came into their lives. The children had been separated in two separate foster homes. So, not only would they be members of a new family, but they would now all be together which had not been the case for years.
“The first day we met them it was wild,” says Doris. “In the midst of chaos, all we could say was ‘Aren’t they precious!’ It was the best thing ever – a blessing – we knew it was our calling.”
CHS is North Carolina’s leading adoption agency completing more adoptions than any other private agency in the state – over 200 adoptions last year and more than 16,000 adoptions throughout its history.
CHS has several initiatives occurring throughout November to help raise adoption awareness, including our searchable online database of children awaiting adoption www.chsnc.org/meet, as well as free virtual information sessions for those interested in learning more about foster care and adoption chsnc.org/online.
While all adoption-related issues are important, the particular focus of this month is the adoption of children living in foster care. In North Carolina, more than 12,000 children are part of the foster care system, and more than 500 youth age out of foster care each year without finding a permanent adoptive family.
These children are in need of a family to love, nurture, and protect them. They come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have special needs, some are part of a sibling group, and many are older children or teenagers.
Often the public is unaware of these children and the realities of adoption. National Adoption Awareness Month provides organizations, including Children’s Home Society of NC, with a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness.
Doris and Shemroy Johnson are experienced parents of two adult children. They felt they had been blessed with their daughters and that their home and hearts were big enough to offer a set of children a safe and nurturing forever home. They had both come from large, close-knit families, so they embarked on a journey to make a difference in the lives of a group of siblings.
They never thought twice about bringing five children into their home through adoption. “So many children need homes, and siblings are the hardest to place,” said Doris Johnson. “We knew if it were meant to be, everything would work out. Then the door flew open, and it was the right time.”
Imani, 11, Jelani, 9, Amina, 7, Denzel, 6, and Rex, 4, came into their lives. The children had been separated in two separate foster homes. So, not only would they be members of a new family, but they would now all be together which had not been the case for years.
“The first day we met them it was wild,” says Doris. “In the midst of chaos, all we could say was ‘Aren’t they precious!’ It was the best thing ever – a blessing – we knew it was our calling.”
CHS is North Carolina’s leading adoption agency completing more adoptions than any other private agency in the state – over 200 adoptions last year and more than 16,000 adoptions throughout its history.
CHS has several initiatives occurring throughout November to help raise adoption awareness, including our searchable online database of children awaiting adoption www.chsnc.org/meet, as well as free virtual information sessions for those interested in learning more about foster care and adoption chsnc.org/online.
While all adoption-related issues are important, the particular focus of this month is the adoption of children living in foster care. In North Carolina, more than 12,000 children are part of the foster care system, and more than 500 youth age out of foster care each year without finding a permanent adoptive family.
These children are in need of a family to love, nurture, and protect them. They come from a variety of backgrounds. Some have special needs, some are part of a sibling group, and many are older children or teenagers.
Often the public is unaware of these children and the realities of adoption. National Adoption Awareness Month provides organizations, including Children’s Home Society of NC, with a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness.
Doris and Shemroy Johnson are experienced parents of two adult children. They felt they had been blessed with their daughters and that their home and hearts were big enough to offer a set of children a safe and nurturing forever home. They had both come from large, close-knit families, so they embarked on a journey to make a difference in the lives of a group of siblings.
They never thought twice about bringing five children into their home through adoption. “So many children need homes, and siblings are the hardest to place,” said Doris Johnson. “We knew if it were meant to be, everything would work out. Then the door flew open, and it was the right time.”
Imani, 11, Jelani, 9, Amina, 7, Denzel, 6, and Rex, 4, came into their lives. The children had been separated in two separate foster homes. So, not only would they be members of a new family, but they would now all be together which had not been the case for years.
“The first day we met them it was wild,” says Doris. “In the midst of chaos, all we could say was ‘Aren’t they precious!’ It was the best thing ever – a blessing – we knew it was our calling.”
CHS is North Carolina’s leading adoption agency completing more adoptions than any other private agency in the state – over 200 adoptions last year and more than 16,000 adoptions throughout its history.
CHS has several initiatives occurring throughout November to help raise adoption awareness, including our searchable online database of children awaiting adoption www.chsnc.org/meet, as well as free virtual information sessions for those interested in learning more about foster care and adoption chsnc.org/online.
