SAVANNAH, Ga. — Teen Adoption and Guardianship Support (TAGS) offers a lifeline for adoptive families through its group support meetings and personal development workshops tailored to the needs of both parents and their adopted children.

Established 137 years ago, the Carrie Steele-Pitts Home initially served as an orphanage. Over the decades, the organization has adapted to the evolving landscape of the foster care system to better serve its community.

TAGS is a complimentary program offered by the Carrie Steele-Pitts Home, targeting teenagers aged 13 to 18. This initiative caters to those who are adopted, under guardianship, or in the permanent custody of the Department of Human Services with adoptive status.

To reach more families, TAGS facilitators travel monthly to ten cities across Georgia, including Savannah, to conduct these valuable workshops.

Each workshop begins with an engaging icebreaker session involving both parents and children. Following this, parents and children split into separate groups. This format allows participants to openly discuss topics such as trauma, grief and loss, identity, community involvement, emotional well-being, future planning, and academic success with peers facing similar experiences.

The children have opportunities to ask facilitators how to communicate something with to their adoptive parents and the parents have time to bounce ideas off of each other, with the goal to build self-confidence and self-respect.

TAGS gives participants meals while their there, but also provides gas cards to parents who are traveling far.