There is an urgent need to find a forever home for a 12-year-old boy. Leward is living in an emergency children's shelter right now, and what worries him most in life is not knowing where he will end up. Leward simply wants what most kids take for granted.
It didn't take long for Leward to open up to me, sharing his joys, his sorrows and his greatest wish: to have parents who love him.
"Just a mom and a dad, I don't really know what kind."
Leward knows what it's like to be loved by family. He's lived with relatives before, but after suffering loss, dealing with grief and ending up in the foster care system, Leward is now searching to find the type of unconditional love only a family can give, once again.
He really wants to be adopted and says living in a foster family isn't like having a real mom and dad.
But despite an emotionally rough couple of years, Leward has tried to take life in stride and considers himself a pretty easy going kid who likes the same things most 12-year-old boys enjoy, like playing video games. One of his favorites-- Super Mario Brothers.
Leward's social worker says he's a big helper at home and doesn't mind doing chores, and though he struggles sometimes at school, it's clear Leward is still excited about learning.
"I like science. I also like English," he said. "I'm good at spelling, stuff like that."
What Leward is missing are parents to help him with his homework. Parents who can help him catch up academically, who can zero in on the things he's passionate about, like science experiments and make learning fun.
"I like when we do labs, like we've done slinky labs this year. We've done measurement labs."
I found Leward to be kind, polite and engaging. What Leward deserves is a family to not only help him reach for the stars, but to jump for them as well.
If you're interested in adopting or becoming a foster family, call 1-877-I-ADOPT-U.
