Latest news with #NationalAdoptionDay
CBS News
26-03-2025
- General
- CBS News
They started started as friends at school and adoption made them brothers for life
The special bond between two boys changed the life of single mom Leslie Santiago in ways she never would have imagined. Back in the third grade, her biological son Luis noticed something was different with his classmate Josiah. "Josiah told me a little bit about his story and he didn't feel comfortable telling me a lot. He just told me a little bit and I told my mom about it," Luis said. It turns out the boys had something in common. They both have experienced having an incarcerated parent. Leslie saw Luis was trying to help. "So, as you go through those things and you navigate through dark times, all you can think about when someone else is going through those times, is how you felt during those times," said Leslie. The bond the boys shared brought them closer together and Josiah started to open up. "It feels nice cause you know you can rely on someone that won't tell anyone about secrets or anything. It was just a nice journey, you could say," Josiah said. As Leslie started to include Josiah in her and Luis' life, the thought of adopting Josiah became a real idea. But, there was a slight curveball. "I remember he called me one day, and he said, 'I have the choice to either join your family or a different family,' and he decided to pick my family," Luis said. National Adoption Day came and now Josiah has the forever family he was hoping for, with Leslie and Luis in Chelsea, Massachusetts. "To be a part of this family, I think it was very beautiful, because I just wanted to have a family like this for almost all my life," Josiah said. Leslie now has two sons to make memories with. "We're up late doing homework, and I remember this one time, we laughed so hard. It might have been 11 o'clock and I was like, 'Guys we have to go to bed.' Something happened and they laughed so hard and I looked at them and I was like, 'This is what this is about,'" Leslie said. "They've been so inclusive and so supportive of this whole process. Being a single mom, the thought of it never crossed my mind, not one bit, until I see how much they show up for me." For more information on adoption and Wednesday's Child , you can contact MARE: 617-964-MARE (6273) or visit . Since its inception in 1981, Wednesday's Child has been a collaboration of the Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE), the Department of Children & Families and WBZ-TV/CBS Boston. Hosted by Jack Williams for 34 years, this weekly series has given a face and voice to the children who wait the longest for families. Wednesday's Child has helped find homes for hundreds of waiting children and continues to raise awareness about adoption from foster care.
Yahoo
14-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Student inspires former teacher to adopt two little girls on Valentine's Day
Love was in the air at Duval County Courthouse Friday, and it wasn't just because of Valentine's Day. It's because of the 17 children dressed in pink and red who have been waiting for this day to finally become official members of their new families. 'Them getting up saying Mom is it Friday yet – Mom is it Friday yet,' Camille Covin said. [DOWNLOAD: Free Action News Jax app for alerts as news breaks] Covin, a former teacher, was among those who adopted a child Friday. She had been a foster parent to two young sisters, Fatima and Melina, for four years, and decided it was time to take the next step. 'Since the day I got them, I have been Mommy ever since,' Covin said. After being a mother to two grown daughters and grandmother of five boys, Covin never thought she would be raising two little ones again. That changed in 2021 when a third-grade student inspired her. 'There was a student in my classroom that I was determined to get so that's why I became a foster parent,' she said. Read: Foster Closet looking to open new physical thrift store as it continues to help foster families However, after she got her foster license something unexpected happened. 'He moved, and the first two children I got was Melina and Fatima,' Covin explained. The judge allowed the two girls to slam the gavel Friday, officially making them Covin's daughters. 'It's been a journey, but I would do it all over again.' She also has a message to that student who moved away. 'Ms. Covin still loves you.' Currently, there are more than 370 youth in Duval and Nassau counties open to adoption from the foster care system, including more than 100 teens in need of a forever family. Read: 'Open your heart:' 16 children in Jacksonville join their forever families on National Adoption Day [SIGN UP: Action News Jax Daily Headlines Newsletter] Click here to download the free Action News Jax news and weather apps, click here to download the Action News Jax Now app for your smart TV and click here to stream Action News Jax live.
