What is life like for a gay black man trying to foster and adopt kids? Now, we can get a glimpse of that life.
Earlier this month, I’m From Driftwood released a video about Texas-born citizen and current Philadelphia resident Gregory Yorgey-Girdy. Gregory sat down with the YouTube channel and gay historical organization to discuss his saga of fostering and adopting children as a gay man married to another man.
Gregory speaks of initial trials with getting foster agencies to even consider him and his husband Paul. Then, the two met a hiccup in the process of adopting their daughter Bella.
“So we got a call that it may be a problem since Bella was currently with another foster parent that had intended to adopt her,” he explained. “And Bella’s birth mom really liked this lady. They had a history together and she didn’t know us, Paul and I, and personally I think the fact that we were two dads, I think that gave her pause.”
Thankfully, Gregory and Paul eventually we able to adopt Bella. But, then the two met another hurdle with their son Xander. This time, medical and health problems.
“Xander, you have to fight,” he told the baby dealing with several health issues.
To find out what happened to Xander and the story of adopting brother Trevor, check out the video below.
I’m From Driftwood is a non-profit organization that has been recording LGBTQ stories for the past ten years. They interview LGBTQ people from across the United States of America to tell their stories of coming out, falling in love, fighting hate, and more.
The organization, founded by Nathan Manske, was created in March of 2009. At the time, Manske wanted to document the American LGBTQ experience. And over the past decade, he has done so by publishing 576+ stories. Collectively, I’m From Driftwood’s YouTube channel has collected over 17 million views and has been a steeple for telling LGBTQ stories. These include stories of everyday citizens like Gregory’s but also stories from celebrities and personalities like Karamo Brown, Brian Sims, Alan Cumming, and more.
