[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 147 (Tuesday, October 4, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1761]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING ELSA HOMINDA OF THE CHILDREN'S HOME SOCIETY OF WASHINGTON 
  FOR HER WORK WITH ADOPTED CHILDREN AND FAMILIES IN WASHINGTON STATE

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. ADAM SMITH

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 4, 2011

  Mr. SMITH of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor my constituent, 
Elsa Hominda, for her outstanding advocacy for adopted children in 
Washington State and for being a 2011 Angels in Adoption honoree. I am 
pleased to join Senator Patty Murray in recognizing Elsa's dedicated 
work with local adoptees, their families, and birth parents.
  Elsa is a Search and Reunion Specialist at the Children's Home 
Society of Washington, a non-profit organization devoted to 
strengthening and supporting Washington's children and families. Elsa 
and her husband are also the proud parents of three adopted children, 
ages 5, 11, and 12.
  As a confidential intermediary at the Children's Home Society of 
Washington, Elsa acts as a neutral third-party to facilitate reunions 
between adoptees and birth parents. She serves as a counselor and 
mediator to the child or parent who is undertaking a search and helps 
to make what is often a very emotional and difficult process just a bit 
easier.
  Through her work, she has helped many individuals. One personal story 
that I found particularly moving involved a gentleman who was placed in 
an adoptive home over 50 years ago and who recently embarked on the 
poignant journey to find his birth mother.
  With the help of Ms. Hominda, this individual was able to reunite 
with his biological mother through a series of letters, emails, and 
eventually, a face-to-face reunion--a process that took several months. 
He is incredibly grateful for all the hard work Elsa did to facilitate 
the reunion and feels as though he has a new addition to his family.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues in the House of Representatives 
please join me in honoring Elsa Hominda, whose work reuniting 
Washington's adopted children with their birth families enriches the 
lives of everyone touched by the process of adoption.

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