November is National Adoption Month

Steve Brawner

There were 274 children and youth in Arkansas waiting to be adopted as of Nov. 2, but Landin, Sam, Noah, Eric, Alesha, Louise, Nadia, Claudia and Kearston are no longer among them.

Those and other young people were featured in a five-minute video produced by Nathan Willis at an event Nov. 2 that kicked off National Adoption Month in Arkansas.

Willis has produced many short biographies of waiting kids through the years for Project Zero. That’s a faith-based organization that finds permanent families for foster children whom the Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has removed from their homes because of neglect or abuse. The state works closely with Project Zero and other organizations.

The videos introduce the young people in raw, emotional and powerful ways. They do not hide the children’s pain. They show kids like Desiree, 17, saying, “I would love a family to just take me in and love me and not hurt me. I’ve been hurt enough.”

This film, “Bring Back the Music – National Adoption Month 2023,” followed brief comments at the kick-off by Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, DCFS director Tiffany Wright and Anna Dietrich, Project Zero’s logistics coordinator.

“Our goal is to work ourselves out of a job,” Dietrich said — in other words, to get to the “zero” that is part of the group’s name. Moments later, she said of the young people: “They deserve to know they are valued and loved and safe and home. They need us to go the extra mile so they never have to wonder if someone loves them.”

The video features a number of children in the foster care system. At first, it doesn’t share the good news that some have been adopted. Landin, 15, says he’s been in foster care since Nov. 4, 2020. He points out that someone would remember the date when something like that happens. Eric says he wants someone to remind him of his mom, whom he misses. Alesha, then 16, says, “All my life, people have said no one’s going to want a 14-year-old. See, y’all don’t know that. Someone’s going to want me.”

At that point, the video shows some of those kids again. One at a time, it tells us, silently through an unfolding banner on each photo, “Family Found.”

The kids weren’t interviewed after the adoption. We see Landin say, “Family means somebody that would stick by your side. You know, blood isn’t always family.” The reveal is especially powerful because we know something he didn’t — that a family did decide to stick by his side permanently with a bond that is thicker than blood.

Unfortunately, not all of the kids’ photos have that banner. Some are revealed to be “Still Waiting.” That includes Desiree. Earlier we had met 16-year-old Hailey, who said, “I don’t think that any other person would want me because I’m a teenager, and they want little kids.” Then she pursed her lips. Jaylee, 14, gets the last word, saying, “I pray every night that I will find that family.”

After the showing of the video, event attendees were let outside, where eight banners featuring photos of waiting children hang on the Department of Human Services building. The banners have QR codes leading to Project Zero’s online Heart Gallery. It features photos, videos and bios of waiting children. DCFS’ Wright said maybe somebody might drive by, see a banner, and adopt one of those kids.

In the meantime, Project Zero will continue finding families. The next really big event is the Candyland Christmas Dec. 2 at the Fellowship Bible Church in Little Rock. Those events give prospective families and waiting children a chance to interact with each other and maybe make a connection that leads to a bond thicker than blood. Many families have been found through such events.

You can see the “Bring Back the Music” video at Project Zero’s Facebook page (scroll down to Nov. 1) or on its YouTube channel. To learn more about how to adopt, to see the Heart Gallery, or to support Project Zero’s work, go to theprojectzero. org.

•••

Steve Brawner is a syndicated columnist published in 16 outlets in Arkansas. Email him at brawnersteve@mac.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevebrawner.