Mission and History
In 2026 On Your Feet Foundation became Shared Journeys Birthparent Collective to better honor the lived experiences of the birthparent we serve, and the role of connection in healing.
While our name is new, our mission is not. We were the first organization to offer comprehensive support to birthparents, and for the past 25 years, long before this level of care was widely recognized as necessary, we have done just that. Not just a few therapy sessions, or a few weeks of post-placement support: we offer lifetime, individualized support, at no cost to birthparents, creating with them the tools they need to navigate grief, loss, and healing.
Over those 25 years, thousands of birthparents found connection, case management, community, and long-term support through On Your Feet Foundation, regardless of how much time had passed since placement or how long support was needed.
Shared Journeys Birthparent Collective carries that same mission forward. Our programming, values, and commitment to birthparents remain the same. What has changed is our understanding of how healing happens. The name Shared Journeys reflects what birthparents have always told us; that healing is not linear, independence-focused, or something you “get back on your feet” from quickly. It happens through connection, ongoing support, and being met without judgment exactly where you are.
Today, Shared Journeys continues and expands this work by:
- Providing comprehensive, long-term case management
- Offering support groups, Connect Calls, and therapeutic retreats
- Maintaining private online communities for peer connection
- Developing specialized programs that address grief, trauma, and mental health after placement
We are also evolving to meet unmet needs. This year, we became the only organization in the country specifically addressing maternal mental health in birthparents, creating a specialized assessment and treatment model for Postpartum Mood and Anxiety Disorders (PMAD). We also offer Beyond Placement, a therapeutic group for birthparents seeking deeper healing, because we recognize that far too many birthparents have never had access to adoption-informed mental health care.
What this change means for birthparents is simple:
The support you know and rely on is still here. Our commitment to you remains the same. The name now better reflects the reality of your experience and the way we walk alongside you.
As we enter our 25th year of service, we honor the foundation laid by On Your Feet Foundation and move forward as Shared Journeys Birthparent Collective, continuing to advocate, expand care, and stand with birthparents, because no one should ever have to carry the weight of placement alone.
We define a birthparent as a person who has placed a child for adoption.
Shared Journeys Birthparent Collective provides the comprehensive support, services, and community that birthparents deserve no matter when they placed their child for adoption and we advocate for birthparent rights and ethical practices in adoption in order to improve outcomes for all members of the adoption constellation.
Who We Are
Shared Journey Birthparent Collective's board of directors, staff, advisory and auxiliary boards include birthparents, adoptive parents (both domestic and international), adopted people, and adoption professionals. Our clients have placed in open adoptions, closed adoptions, interracial adoptions, and with same-sex couples. They are parenting other children, are survivors of domestic violence, have had their parental rights terminated, have placed with family members, and are adopted people themselves.
Shared Journeys Birthparent Collective is an independent 501(c)3 non-profit organization dedicated to providing post-placement support and services to birthparents, defined as individuals who have placed a child for adoption. Shared Journeys is not affiliated with any adoption agency, attorney or consultant and does not partner with adoption agencies, attorneys, or consultants.
