AUSTIN, Texas — Every week on KVUE, we feature a different child in the Texas foster care system, in hopes of helping them get adopted by a forever family.
Joel is 16 and a sophomore in high school. He's a shy, gentle and sweet boy who is eager to find a family to help him navigate the rest of his high school years.
KVUE's Hannah Rucker met up with Joel at Main Event in North Austin for a day of arcade games. The staff were so kind to them and even allowed Joel to take home a Game Boy with the points he got.
Joel said he grew up in the country, so he enjoys fishing, duck hunting and four-wheeling.
"In the morning, I would collect eggs from the chickens we had," Joel said.
He also enjoys watching YouTube videos, playing video games and reading books.
To learn more about Joel or to put in an inquiry to adopt him, visit his page on the Heart Gallery of Central Texas.
PHOTOS | Forever Families: Meet Joel
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.