ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Six months after a Florida teen asked a church full of strangers to help him find a real home, he still has not been adopted.
Davion Navar Henry Only’s plea was first reported by The Tampa Bay Times and was then featured in news outlets around the world. He stood at the pulpit of a church in September, wearing a donated suit and clutching a Bible he’d borrowed from his boys home.
“My name is Davion,” he said. “And I’ve been in foster care since I was born.”
Davion told the church he never knew his real family and that he hoped for a home.
He was featured on Good Morning America, Al Jazeera America and in People. Producers flew him in to speak with Barbara Walters in New York on The View. About 10,000 people around the globe called to ask about helping or adopting him.
Davion has since moved out of a group home and into a foster one, The Tampa Bay Times reports. But he still does not have a permanent home.
“Something doesn’t seem right. I pray about it,” said his mentor, Richard Prince, 22. “He’s changed schools and foster homes, and he’s not allowed to tell me certain things. People want to hear a happy ending, but it’s not too clear what’s going on.”
More than 300 people contacted the Times last fall saying they couldn’t get in touch with anyone at Davion’s foster agency, Eckerd. The Times contacted a sample of 40 of those potential parents. Of the 10 who responded, nine said they had not heard from Eckerd.
An Eckerd spokeswoman said Davion was meeting with prospective adoptive families and that the process would take time.
Some adoption experts say they are not surprised that an adoption has taken so long, but other children’s advocates are appalled.
“The poor kid has got to be wondering, ‘Why, out of all those people, does no one want me?’” Dr. Gregory Keck, a psychologist who has spent 25 years working with foster and adopted children said.
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