Most people in the world get to experience being part of families, each unique in their sizes, shapes, colors and more. However, many children never have the chance to be part of a family and live in orphanages or switch between foster homes instead. In Georgia, the process of adoption serves to decrease the number of children going through life alone. One couple in another state saw the temporariness of foster homes for one teen and decided to make a difference.
This husband and wife met their newly adopted son three years ago. She had been working as his advocate, ensuring that his needs were being fulfilled in various aspects of his life. The child had been put into the foster care system when he was 7 and had no hope of being reunited with his biological parents. For years, he was moved from one foster home to the next, as the likelihood of his adoption decreased.
When he was 15, the couple decided to become his new foster parents. They wanted to give him the experience of being in a family, while teaching him practical life skills that he had missed by constantly moving from house to house. It was not long before the couple began to work on the adoption paperwork and, as of March, the now 17-year-old has a forever home and his very own parents. The couple hopes that their act will show others that no matter how old, everyone deserves to be loved and part of a family.
Adoptions, whether in Georgia or another state, have the ability to drastically transform people’s lives. This adoption gave a young man at the cusp of adulthood the family he had never had. The impact that being part of a family and knowing one is loved cannot be denied and should encourage people to open the minds to the process of adopting. Families can use the numerous available resources to discover the qualifications and requirements for adopting a child and provide an understanding of the costs.
Source: Santa Cruz Sentinel, “Santa Cruz couple adopt teen boy, giving a fresh start”, Kara Guzman, April 4, 2014