There are more than 600 children who are ready for adoption in Virginia. They are ready to find a permanent and loving forever family. 10 News is profiling one child who needs a home every day at 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. in 30 Days of Hope. The children are all ages and races and were put into foster care due to no fault of their own. 2021 marks the fifth year 10 News is doing this series.
Meet Demetrius!
“He’ll pull at your heartstrings. He’s just a great kid to be around,” said Keshia Jones, Danville Department of Social Services Family Services Specialist. “He’s very charming, I’ll say that. Once you meet him, you’ll know. He’s just really charming. He’s very talkative.”
Demetrius has received A/B Honor Roll in school and perfect attendance. His favorite subjects are math and reading.
“As far as academics, he does well. He likes to build things. He likes to draw. He’s a really good drawer,” said Jones.
The 14-year-old’s favorite holiday is Christmas and he loves playing video games too. He also likes basketball and enjoys being outside as much as he can and riding his bike around.
Demetrius has been in foster care for about seven years.
“I think just in general for my teenagers, I think they need somebody that would provide that guidance for them with them being teenagers, so they can transition from the youth to adulthood. I think we just need strong families for the children,” said Jones.
She said he needs a two-parent home and a strong male in that home.
“I think he does super good with smaller children. He likes to be the big brother, just from his biological siblings. He’s always been the big brother so I think he would do well with children in the home,” said Jones.
Demetrius is a joy to be around. Could you be the forever family for this wonderful child?
If you have questions about Demetrius or foster care/adoption, contact VDSS Division of Family Services, Juliet Baldwin, Adoption Recruitment Coordinator, at adoptioninquiries@dss.virginia.gov.
To see other 30 Days of Hope stories visit us here: https://www.wsls.com/topic/30_Days_Of_Hope/
We also have a list of frequently asked questions about foster care and adoption including the cost, training, etc in this link.