Teen Begs For Someone To Adopt Him, Plea Goes Viral


Davion Only had almost stopped believing that he would ever have a family of his own, because he was 16 in the foster care system. Out of desperation, in October, 2013, he spoke in front of a church congregation in Saint Petersburg, Florida, pleading to be adopted. He had just received horrible news that his birth mother would never be searching for him. He discovered that she had been in jail since his birth, and she had died. After bouncing around in various foster hones for his entire life, he said the following in front of parishioners, according to Yahoo.

“My name is Davion and I’ve been in foster care since I was born. I know God hasn’t given up on me, so I’m not giving up either… I’ll take anyone. Old or young, dad or mom, black, white, purple.”

Little did he know that his pleas would go viral — worldwide. First, Davion’s story was told in the Tampa Bay Times, then media across the United States, then on other continents — in England, Australia, and Japan — picked up his weary, sad tale. Bloggers and celebrities shared his plea, and Barbara Walters even interviewed him on The View. Over 10 thousand people contacted Eckerd, the foster agency, to adopt him.

And, eventually, he went to live with a minister and his family in Ohio, after the minister indicated that he wanted to make David part of his family. But it wasn’t meant to be. When Davion got into an altercation with one of the minister’s children, the family changed their mind and sent Davion back to Florida. Back into the foster care system, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

That’s when things became so bleak for him that he stopped talking. He thought at his age no one would ever want him. Reporters around the world wanted to know what went wrong.

Back into the foster care system, David slumped — defeated — on the floor in the bedroom of his foster home. Nothing was his. He played Madden football on a hand-held PlayStation. He attempted to pretend that he didn’t need anyone.

On a muggy late July evening, he called the only person who was a central figure in his life since he was seven years old: his case worker, Connie Bell Going. He said the following, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

“Hey… Miss Connie… it’s me. Do you remember what I asked you before? Well?… Do you remember what I asked you before? I mean about…Well, how do you feel about adopting me now?”

What he meant was what he asked her every year during their almost decade-old relationship: “Why don’t you just adopt me, Miss Connie?” And she kept saying that he deserved more, and that he needed a father too.

Connie Bell Going’s marriage had ended, and her two daughters were now teenagers. She had even adopted one of the more than one thousand kids she helped get adopted, named Taylor, a 10-year-old who was a good friend of Davion’s from a group home.

Now, Going was no longer his case worker, as she had changed jobs. She was ready to adopt him if that was what Davion still wanted, and her children also decided that it was the right thing to do. She rented a larger house for her and her girls, Sydney, 21, Carley, 17, and Taylor, who is 14 now. Davion visited on weekends since August, then moved in the home in December. It was the first time Davion had his own room. On April 22, everything will be official. Davion told Going the following before Christmas, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

“I guess I always thought of you as my mom. Only now I get to call you that for real, right?”

Going said that everything is not picture perfect and they are a real family where the kids have disagreements and sometimes things are overwhelming. But when all is said and done, and the day winds down, she goes to her son in his own room. And he talks to the woman he now calls “mom.”

Even the rich and famous may consider adoption. The often-brash Simon Cowell has recently revealed that he is considering an addition to his family, which includes his son, Eric, and partner, Lauren Silverman, and may consider adoption, according to an article in the Inquisitr.

[Photo Courtesy of Facebook]

Share this article: Teen Begs For Someone To Adopt Him, Plea Goes Viral
More from Inquisitr