A DROP-IN session is being held to offer advice and support to people affected by adoption.

Durham Family Welfare is hosting the session next Wednesday, from its Darlington centre, which has been open for 18 months.

The session, which will run from 4pm to 7pm, is aimed at people who work and who need out-of-hours information about their situation or help on how to contact their lost family.

Co-ordinator for the Adoption Mediation project at Durham Family Welfare, Catriona Morris, said: "It requires great courage in many instances just to make an initial phone call asking for help in locating old adoption records.

"Many people will not have spoken to anyone about their part in adoption, and to then have to tell their story to a succession of strangers can be daunting.

"The adoption advice centre will help to eliminate some of the stress connected with tracing the right agency by making it as easy as possible for people touched by adoption to access the range of services available in the North-East. We provide a welcoming, friendly environment at the centre."

Usually, the centre is open at the Dolphin Centre, in Darlington, on the last Wednesday of every month, between 1pm and 4pm.

For more information about adopting a child, or the post adoption service offered by Durham Family Welfare, telephone 0191-386 3719, or visit the Internet website at HYPERLINK http://www.durhamfamily welfare.org.uk.