Articles Book III - Pg 1300-1479 (Reunions etc) - triadoption

Groups help birth mothers keep track, of adopted children
By Beverly Fortune
M~lald-Leadof stat1 mnw
Susan Secchl was 3 prs old and
unmarried when she had a bby. She
immedhtelv eave him UD for ndwtion.
"My &;her didn'; wont me to
keep him. She was afraid of what pe+
ple would think. I worked at the bank.
and I didn't mnke much. I hada built.in
Insecurity. I was sfnld I couldn't ham
dle it alone." Nrs. Secehl said.
The yenr was 1969.
"When you put a child up far ndop
tion, they tell you ycu'll forget about
him md scan a new life. You'll hnve
more children md be hnppy, and tho
chlld is In a pood home." she wid.
"~ut ~ ~ ~ ~ rof cus e don't n t have
mom children. And binh mrents don't
forget. You try to blodc kt the memory
of a child that )ru have out there
somewhere who's al~ve. You try lo go
on, but n piece of yw is mising."
This week is National Dlnh Par.
ents Week, a tune to recognize the
sense of lms felt by mnny parents who
surrender their children to ndoptlon.
Promoted by Concerned United Blnh
pnrenrs, chi week suppons wltlng
fnmllles who were separated by ndop
tlon.
Mrs. Secchl Ls organizing n Kentucky
chapter of CUB, one of several
omlwtions In che movement for
open adoption records as oppmed to
the usu1 sccrecy surrounding ndop
tion.
Others include Adoption Triangle
Ministry nnd A-LINK, nn ncmnym for
Adoptees Lmklng in Kentucky. A-
LINK is a senrch md support gmp
founded by a Lexlngon odoptee, Lindn
Cecil, for binh parents, adoptees nnd
adoptive parents.
The group meets the second Frl.
day of the month at the Cenrrnl Kentucky
Blood Center, 90 Waller Ave
nue. The next meeting of A.LINK will
be nl7:30 p.m. Friday.
Mrs. Secchl, aim active In A.
LINK. pmvldes unusunl Insight Into the
sdmtlon ormas beenuse she herself
ins'adopied. She also is a blnh parent
who gaveup herchlld foradoption, nrul
later she ndwted mther chlld.
Two ye& ago at Thanksgiving,
Mrs. Secchl wac reunited wllh her nutural
father. Willlam Nw of Nicholns
vllle. me get.together was the culmi.
tio on of a year's searrh for her mots.
She also& met her binh mocher. who
lives in Fayecte County.
MIX. Scechl and her husband,
hrry, have an Byenrald daughter,
Penny, whom they adopted when she
wac 20 months old. They have tried to
find Penny's binh parenu.
And Mrs. Secch hlred an adoption
consultant in n neighbring slate who
found the rcn she mve up for ~d0ptlOn
14 yeors ago. She Lows her ~ n's flrst
md m~ddlennme and that he u in good
health. She aha has some lnlormntion
on his adoptive parenu.
"With that lnfomallon. I feel se
cure enough thnt he is fine," the 35
vearald womn snld. Similar informa. I 1 10
&m fo MANY, 06) Penny Secchi hugs her mother, Susan, who adopted her.