Orphaned Florida teen Davion Only flooded with adoption requests after heartfelt public appeal
15-year-old Only has spent most of his life in foster care. But after his story went viral, more than 500 people have called Eckerd, Only’s adoption agency, with requests to give the brave teen a forever home.
Comments (19)By Carol Kuruvilla / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Friday, October 18, 2013, 11:00 AM
ABC
Florida Orphan Davion Only wants just one thing: a family who will love him forever.
After 15 years in foster care, Davion Navar Henry Only has never been closer to finding his forever home.
Calls continue to pour in from around the country for the Florida teenager who was brave enough to slip into a borrowed black suit, stand up in front of a crowded church and ask for someone, anyone, to love him.
"I just want people to love me for who I am and just to grab me and keep me in their house and love me no matter what," the 15-year-old told ABC. "If you can, reach out and get me and love me until I die."
RELATED: GRANDMA RAISES MONEY TO ADOPT HER ORPHANED GRANDSON
Born while his mom was in jail, Only has been shuttled around to different foster homes throughout his life. He currently lives at Carlton Manor, a group home, with 12 other teenage boys. He’s never had a bed or even a pillow that he could really call his own. His movements at Carlton are monitored by cameras. He has to ask permission to use the bathroom.
And he’s never really felt wanted.
Through it all, Only held onto one bit of hope: He kept thinking that his biological family would come back to him one day. That glimpse of a happier future made everything he was going through seem temporary.
RELATED: ORPHANED RUSSIAN ABANDONED BY ADOPTIVE PARENTS
It might also explain why Only has had trouble controlling his anger. He’s thrown chairs and refused to pay attention to his grades in school.
But all of that changed this summer. With his birth certificate in hand, Only tried to search for his mother online. He found her — La-Dwina Ilene "Big Dust" McCloud — and realized she was big, just like him. The 6-foot-1, 270 pound woman had been busted for petty theft and cocaine. She died June 5, at the age of 55, just a few weeks before Only started searching.
He could no longer blame her for what had happened to him. So he decided to take his life into his own hands.
Calls continue to pour in from around the country for the Florida teenager who was brave enough to slip into a borrowed black suit, stand up in front of a crowded church and ask for someone, anyone, to love him.
"I just want people to love me for who I am and just to grab me and keep me in their house and love me no matter what," the 15-year-old told ABC. "If you can, reach out and get me and love me until I die."
RELATED: GRANDMA RAISES MONEY TO ADOPT HER ORPHANED GRANDSON
Melissa Lyttle/ZUMAPRESS.com
Connie Going, Only’s case worker, fixes the boy’s borrowed white tie before he enters the church to make his impassioned plea.
And he’s never really felt wanted.
Through it all, Only held onto one bit of hope: He kept thinking that his biological family would come back to him one day. That glimpse of a happier future made everything he was going through seem temporary.
RELATED: ORPHANED RUSSIAN ABANDONED BY ADOPTIVE PARENTS
Melissa Lyttle/ZUMAPRESS.com
Only has just three years before he is 'emancipated' from the foster care system at the age of 18. Before that happened, he decided to take matters into his own hands by making a public adoption request at the St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church.
But all of that changed this summer. With his birth certificate in hand, Only tried to search for his mother online. He found her — La-Dwina Ilene "Big Dust" McCloud — and realized she was big, just like him. The 6-foot-1, 270 pound woman had been busted for petty theft and cocaine. She died June 5, at the age of 55, just a few weeks before Only started searching.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/florida-orphan-flooded-adoption-requests-heartfelt-public-appeal-article-1.1489626#ixzz2i82L5iyv
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