A Welcome Home celebrates the warmth and beauty of everyday family life, where love, belonging, and culture matter far more than ideal conditions. A new survey of 500 adoptive parents in England found that 86% had once worried their homes weren’t good enough to adopt. In reality, 41% live in homes with two bedrooms or fewer, 65% don’t have a garden, and a quarter rent their homes. Yet these are the places where children have found safety, identity, and affection.

Amid a cost-of-living crisis, adoption agencies report a 12% drop in people coming forward to adopt compared with last year. The result is longer waiting times for children, particularly for those from Black and Mixed heritage backgrounds, who wait on average five months longer for a permanent home. Although they make up around 7% of children in care, they account for just 2% of those adopted.

For many Black families, home is about more than bricks and walls; it’s where culture and identity take root. Research from You Can Adopt shows that one in five adopters believe it’s important for a child to grow up in a home that reflects their ethnic or cultural heritage. Jennifer, an adoptive mother of two boys, recalls, “When we adopted our first son, we were worried that we didn’t have the perfect home. But we soon realised that what he needed most wasn’t perfection, it was love, empathy, structure and to see himself reflected in his home. Every family story, every celebration and every cultural meal, that’s what makes our home complete.”

To bring that message to life, You Can Adopt has launched A Welcome Home, an immersive installation now open in London and Leeds. Co-created with adoptive families and inspired by the memories and imaginations of adopted children, it transforms the kitchen, often described as the heart of the home, into a celebration of the messy, loving realities of family life. “When I adopted my daughter, it was in the kitchen that we bonded over meals, music, and mess,” says Jacqui, another adoptive mother. “‘A Welcome Home’ shows that adoption isn’t about perfection; it’s about belonging. It’s about giving a child a place at your table and that’s where love truly grows.”

Many who go on to adopt once doubted their ability to parent, their income, or the size of their home. Yet their courage to take that first step has changed countless lives. Audrey Bouazizi, Head of Adopt London South and member of the Black Adoption Project’s steering committee, says, “Black children and those from mixed African or Caribbean heritage face some of the longest delays to finding an adoptive home. This is because there are not enough adopters coming forward to meet their cultural and identity needs. We want to show that your story, your culture, and your care can be exactly what a child is waiting for.”

Adoption is rarely straightforward, and few ever feel entirely ready. More than half of adopters say that nobody ever feels truly prepared for parenting. But with support available at every step, the journey begins with a single, life-changing decision. Because a welcome home isn’t a perfect one, it’s a place where love and belonging take root.

Learn more at youcanadopt.co.uk/blackadopters.