Orphan Davion Only Removed From Minister's Foster Family After Physical Altercation
Davion Only, the orphan who made international headlines by attending a church in Florida and pleading for a "forever family" has reportedly been thrown out of his foster home after fighting with a foster sibling and his foster father.
Only, 16, appeared at a church in St. Petersburg, Florida to speak to the congregation and ask for help in finding a home where he could live permanently. Thousands of people responded to his request, but it was a minister and his wife who ultimately took Only into their Ohio home in March.
The boy seemed to be adjusting well and was excited to finally have a stable family. Only was due to be adopted this month, but an altercation led to a physical interaction with one of his foster siblings and the minister himself. He was flown back to Florida by his case manager.
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"This has been a major setback for him," Lorita Shirley, director of the adoption agency Eckerd said. "Our goal now is to get him treatment."
"On paper, this was the book-definition perfect family for him. The father was a pastor who had worked with troubled kids. They knew about Davion's background and issues. The biggest thing that went wrong is that Davion spent 15 years in the system. He has a lot of built up anger. It's been very devastating for everyone involved," Shirley added.
The foster family is not speaking about what led to the physical altercation, and the adoption agency has asked for privacy as Only recovers and deals with the situation.
"I'm extremely worried about him," Only's mentor, Richard Prince, said. "We had a short conversation a couple of weeks ago, but it was very unsettling."
The agency has not given up hope for finding Only a forever home, and when the time is right, they will continue looking at the list of prospective families.
"Now, we might be looking at empty-nesters, people who raised teenagers but don't have any other kids in their house. That might be the best match for him," Shirley said.
