questions about norfolk

There is a Navy hospital here - the Charette Naval Medical Center, Portsmouth, VA. It's right accross the harbor from the city of Norfolk. Catholic Charities is also here, the Norfolk office is at: 1301 Colonial Ave Norfolk VA. Phone # 757-625-2568 HTH Regina, AMom to Ryan Joshua Thomas

I am also looking for similiar information I have some on the catholic chrities they are in the phone book. If you still need it reply and Iwill look for it. I am not sure of the naval hospital however?

Most likely it's the Portsmouth Naval Hospital. [url]http://www-nmcp.med.navy.mil/[/url]

My husband and his siblings were processed throught St. Mary's Infant Home on Chapel St. in Norfolk in June of 1963. When we went there in 1993 30 years later looking for sibling information we found that we had more infomation then they did. We updated what they had and are still looking for one sister Robbin Lynn born Sept. 27, 1959 at Portsmouth Naval Hospital. We found the women at St. Mary's very kind and helpful. Ask you never know what you'll find out. Good Luck Laurie GAlle

There is a hospital in Portsmouth Va. It is the military hospital for Norfolk area. Portsmouth Naval hospital.

My half sister was born in Portsmouth naval hospital in Virginia . I am told by Richmond Social Services she was adopted from catholic charities hampton roads-which was once Norfolk chapter of catholic charities. Her date of birth is Nov. 4 1970, although as I have been reading it seems Catholic Charities had a nasty habit of changing birthdates on adoptee's records. Mom's bio name is Carol and she signed the relinquishment papers as Carol Hierspiel or Finn. I am and have been posting to every possible posting place online with her birthday, but now I wonder if she would even know it were her I was lookinig for if she has the wrong date of birth on her records from CC. How a religious group could be so decietful is disgusting to me. I am livid to learn of this practice by them. My mother entrusted them as they assured her babygirl would be given a good family and life. Now I haven't even got the heart to tell my mother we may have little to no hope of finding her because CC lies :(

Don't give up on finding her. If she is connected to any adoption support/search groups, she may know that it is a possibility that some dates, or other info is not accurate. Unfortunately, that it is not unheard of. Have you registered with ISRR and Reunite.com? Whenevery you post, just indicate that you suspect that the birth date might have been changed. Check out Catholic Charities website too - they probably aren't keen on reunions, but, do provide some info and maybe even do searches in some states. I know many reunited parents who have found many inaccuracies on the non-id info or even the birth certificate. One of the worst situations I am aware of is that of a newly reunited birth mom. At reunion, she discovered that at age 18, her daughter signed up with the agency registry wanting contact, so did the birth mom and father. The agency did nothing to hook them up. They only discovered this when the daughter was in her 30's and her birth mom found her. You'd think that the religious agencies would be the most circumspect, honest, etc. Unfortunately, it seems some are able to justify their lies, etc. based on their stringent moral beliefs. I agree it is pretty horrible. My ex was a doctor at Portsmouth Naval Hospital many years ago - and yes, it is quite close to Norfolk.

ISRR? what is that? I am not familiar with it? I spoke to catholic charities today and hung up feeling like I am wasting my time trying to find her. I was so sad after i hung up. On my drive home I decided I am going to ignor all the negative thoughts and feelings about today. Until today I never had a bone in my body that didn't believe I would indeed find babygirl somehow someday. Today was the first time i really felt like , wow , I may not find her. Really sux. I am not giving up... today I just felt for the first time since I found out about her a down to the up. I have honestly been very excited since I found out and shared with my family my interest in finding her. I guess today I just realized just how excited I was and it is a little scary because there is a real possibility if I do find her, she may not want anything to do with me or us. I have started to invest my emotions and I am a bit worried. I guess this is normal feelings, I dono.

ISRR is International Soundex Reunion Registry - [url]www.isrr.org[/url]. It is a very large free international mutual consent registry - you can download the form on-line to send it to register. Since is a well known one in the adoption community, it is worth registering with them. Do you have the non-identifying info yet from Catholic Charities? [url]http://www.cceva.org/adoption.htm[/url] If not, that should be a first step. Your mom should tell them that she wants to place a letter requesting contact in the file too. They may have a form for this. Just because you heard that names, and bds are sometimes changed, it does not happen all the time, so hope for the best. Another possibility is to find a local adoption support group - they may have some good search tips. On-line check on search and support groups specifically for VA. Have you typed into a search engine "Virginia Adoption Search" to see what comes up? There are a million ways to find someone. Most adoption sites, including this one, can give you a great deal of advice on how to search. A Virginia based search angel is another route to take once you get the non-id. If you can afford it there are professional adoption searchers too. Do not give up - there are so many ways to find a birth family member! It can seem frustrating if you have no idea what you're doing - but armed with some logical places to begin - you can get there. As for your feelings, they sound pretty normal to me. Reaching out to someone is always a risk - they can accept or reject you - but, I feel it is worth the effort. My son found me and I wish always be terribly grateful that he did. There is a good chance that your sister will welcome contact! You will never know for certain though till you find her! Good luck!

I thought that only the adoptee themself can request no identifying ID in the state of Virginia? Is there a form I could send my mom (she lives in PA now) so she can request this Non indentifying ID?

Yes there is it is Portsmouth Naval Hospital and depending on the year your researching a Catholic Charities Organization was the only city Orphanage that was running pre 1980 it is St. Mary's Infant Home , it is still open today but not as an orphanage it is a home for Disabled children . Hope this helps I am searching for My husbands Biological parents he was placed in St Marys in 1971 .

Im not sure how accurate the info we have is but the Dr who signed the BC was Declan O'Riordan how would I find what hospital he worked out of in 1971 ?

Is Arlington near Norfolk Navel Base or Newport News VA?