Florida Orphan Receives Nearly 1,000 Requests for Adoption After Plea to Church Congregation Goes Viral
A 15-year-old orphan boy who recently pleaded in front of a Florida church for a family to adopt him has received close to 1,000 phone calls from families seeking to give him a home.
Davion Navar Henry Only has lived in foster care for his entire life because his mother was in jail when he was born. She died earlier this year.
The teenager currently resides at the Eckerd's Carlton Manor residential group home in St. Petersburg, Fla. with 12 other teenage boys, and recently the young boy made a heartfelt plea at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church, located in the same city. Davion reportedly stood up before the entire 300-plus person congregation and begged for a family to adopt him and give him a real home.
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"'I'll take anyone," Davion told the congregation. "Old or young, dad or mom, black, white, purple. I don't care. And I would be really appreciative. The best I could be."
Davion's recent plea gained him national news coverage, and since his story first ran earlier this week, Eckerd Youth Alternatives, the company that runs his foster home, has reportedly received nearly 1,000 phone calls from families inquiring about Davion.
"We have received a tremendous response from Davion's story!" the company posted on its official Facebook page. "#Eckerd and our community partners have mobilized to create a call center to respond to each and every call coming in about #Davion. We ask that folks be patient, we are incredibly grateful for the outcry of interest in Davion and we will get back to everyone as soon as we can. We are nearing 1,000 inquiries already! #secondchances."
The company added in a press release that it is currently in the process of finding Davion his "forever family," but the foster home organization also has hundreds of other children looking for a place to call home. "We currently have more than 200 children just like Davion that are in need of a forever family. We would love to share additional information regarding these deserving children to include how to view a picture of them and read about their unique stories," the company said in the press release.
Davion said in an interview with ABC News on Thursday that he wants America to understand that it's difficult to be a foster child, and ultimately he just wants a place to call home. "I just want people to know that it's hard to be a foster kid. People sometimes don't know how hard it is and how much we try to do good."
"It's not really cool not to have anybody," Davion continued. "I'm pretty happy and excited that people are calling and asking to talk to me and possibly be my family."
"I just want people to love me for who I am and to grab me and keep me in their house and love me no matter what," the young man added.
