THOMAS IS FIRST SINGLE GAY SCOTS MAN TO ADOPT
FAMILY MILESTONE FOR CARING DAD He hopes to inspire potential parents
THE first single gay man in Scotland to adopt a child has told how his son has made his life complete. Thomas Anderson always wanted to be a father but feared it would never happen. But four years ago, he saw a Facebook advert for St Andrew’s Children’s Society and decided he was going to try to give a child a home. Thomas, 33, said: “I was desperate to be a dad and there were so many kids out there who needed parents. It was that simple.” Backed by his family, Thomas then embarked on a two-year journey to get his son. He said: “It is a long process with so many checks, but finally I went to an exchange day, where there are local authorities advocating for children in their care. You are there to speak to them and to try and find a match.”
Thomas said he saw a picture of a four-year-old boy and knew he’d found his son.
He said: “I saw him and I just thought, ‘That’s him, that’s my boy’. I told them I was interested.”
Thomas then met everyone involved in the child’s life, including his foster parents
and social workers before he was introduced to the child who would become his son.
After numerous meetings with the youngster, Thomas was allowed to take him home.
He said: “I went to the foster home and before I could knock, the door opened and he jumped up and called me, ‘Daddy’ and that was it.
“It was so unreal and bizarre because it felt amazing, but it also felt normal, like that’s how it should have always been.
“Shortly after he came home, we were laying on his bed watching TV and it felt so perfectly normal, like we were always meant to be laying watching PJ Masks together.”
Thomas was surprised to learn he was the first single gay man to adopt in Scotland but he hopes his story will open the doors for others.
He said: “It’s not that I’m a gay man, it’s that I’m a single man. Before I got into this, I thought only couples would be considered. I think that’s sad.
“There are so many children who need a safe and loving home but there are as many people desperate to be parents.
“If my story can get those people to take the first steps, everything has been worth it.”