AUSTIN, Texas — Waiting in foster care to be adopted can feel like an endless process, but one young boy has chosen to remain positive during this time of waiting.
Devin, 12, always shows up with a smile on his face.
"I'm joyful and playful," Devin said.
Devin entered into foster care a few years ago and currently lives in a group home. He said when he first entered into the system, it was frightening.
"It was kind of scary. But I kind of thought of ways I could, like, fix that. So I thought of a way where I can get it out of my mind," Devin said. "So, I was like, 'Why not try sports for once?'"
For this Forever Families shoot, Devin had the pleasure of spending the morning with the Austin Spurs basketball team. He was even able to have a special one-on-one moment with one of the players.
Justin Kier shared a personal story from his own childhood, telling Devin that he knows what he's going through.
PHOTOS | Forever Families: Meet Devin
"My family had a tragedy as well, and I had to go through that process of kind of, you know, I had my grandparents there for me but, you know, it's always different not having a mom and dad," Kier said. "But you got a gift, man. You got a real good gift. I can see it here on the court, but I can also see it in your smile. You look like you have a lot of joy and you're outgoing."
The Austin Spurs immediately embraced Devin and made him feel at home.
Devin loves staying active by playing sports. He also likes reading and playing video games.
To learn more about Devin or to put in an inquiry to adopt him, visit his page on the Heart Gallery of Central Texas.
KVUE launched the Forever Families segment with Partnerships for Children (PFC) in June 2020 to highlight children in the Heart Gallery of Central Texas who need secure and permanent families. Every day, there are nearly 1,000 children waiting to get adopted in Central Texas, according to PFC.
Editor's note: The children who are in the Heart Gallery program and featured in KVUE's Forever Families segments are children who have had every effort made on their behalf to connect them with family or others in their community to provide options for permanent, adoptive homes. Through no fault of their own, that hasn’t happened yet, and so in partnership with the Department of Family and Protective Services, we collaborate to bring awareness to KVUE viewers about these children in the hopes of finding them permanency before they age out.