The road to adoption follows as many paths as there are people taking it. Whether the first step is prompted by an unwelcome pregnancy, a vacancy in a family that needs filling or a circumstance of birth that leads to a life lived elsewhere, when the path ends at a door marked Adoption, a unique and lifelong journey begins.

Over the years, the online adoption community has seen the manifestations of our individual journeys take divergent and often divisive directions. As the various groups of triad members ... birth parents, adoptive parents and adoptees ... gathered together to focus on issues relevant to their perspective, it has been tempting to limit discussion to within the like-minded, the empathetic and those sympathetic to the consequences of one version of events. This specialization has often led only to so much preaching to the choir, to the exclusion, and sometimes the vilification, of those holding other views.

Although this exclusivity of opinion can make for a supportive atmosphere within the group, it does little to expand understanding in the greater realm and has led to a level of infighting and resentment that is not only unproductive, but damaging.

People coming to adoption and seeking real information and hoping to educate themselves have historically found themselves floundering. From website to website, those with an interest in adoption search for valid, correct, balanced and respectful resources and often find their efforts thwarted. Discouraged by restrictive agendas or berated when daring to ask for enlightenment from the wrong crowd, many fall into the age-old position of simply winging it and hoping things work out for the best.

As in any endeavor, education is power in adoption: those having it are in control; those without it may be easily manipulated, and manipulation can translate to a lifetime of suffering.

Providing access to information on adoption from every angle, every direction, every point of view is the goal of Adoption Under One Roof, and those of us who have this dream and work to make it real are determined to offer a platform that will encourage the sort of sharing that will lead to improvements in every aspect of adoption.

Adoption Under One Roof was born of frustration, but built on hope.

The founders of Adoption Under One Roof are all veteran bloggers who have for years been working under the burden of limited vision in an environment of exclusion. Our accumulated experience is vast and deep, and our commitment to building a dynamic online community that will make the adoption world a better place is solid.

Our vision is for a world where every woman in a crisis pregnancy is fully informed and ethically treated, where every hopeful adoptive parent demands a process that ensures any child coming to a family comes as the result of strict following of the laws and as the best of best options available, that the rights of every adopted child have been protected along each step of the journey, and that the hope of a family remains for the children of the world who have no others.

There is only one way to move forward toward this vision, and that is through the united efforts of those passionate about adoption; that is why we have constructed this "One Roof".

Ouradopt.com door is wide open, and everyone is welcome to gather, to mix, to share, to teach and to learn ... parents, children, adoption advocates, anti-adoption campaigners, singles, couples, straights, gays, Christians, Hindus, Jews, atheists, step, foster, young, old, international, domestic, passionate, wondering, experienced or completely new, kids who climb on rocks with chicken pox! ... come on in! Bring your passions, your opinions, your experience and your dedication and gather under this One Roof.

As John F. Kennedy said, "If we cannot now end our differences, at least we can help make the world safe for diversity."