There is an urgent need to find a permanent home for a 14-year-old boy named Jacob. Jacob is about to enter high school and it would be ideal if he could start this new chapter of his life with a family of his own.
We have watched Jacob grow up on Adopt 8, having featured him twice before and we're hoping the third time's a charm.
Jacob starts the ninth grade in the fall and says while he's excited, he's also a little nervous. They are typical emotions but the 14-year-old has reason to be even more anxious than most kids his age - it's possible, Jacob may not know a single person in his freshman class, because he may not be attending the same school.
Jacob is living in limbo like he has been for far too long. I first met Jacob four years ago when he was 10-years-old and a bit shy.
When we caught up with him last year, Jacob was more confident and outgoing.
He had just moved in with a new foster family and his foster sister Kaitlyn couldn't have been more impressed with this charming young man.
"I just loved him instantly. He's a great kid. If I was older, I would adopt him, honestly, I mean a wonderful kid," Kaitlyn.
Jacob has been with that same foster family, for a little more than a year now.
"He's so good with babies, he's great with pets he loves to be right there helping with the, he's just an amazing young man," said Nancy Holdinghausen Jacob's Foster Mom
Being part of this family has given Jacob the stability he has been missing for most of his life, having been moved around in the foster system 15 times, since the age of five.
But Jacob knows this is not a permanent solution and doesn't know where he'll end up next.
"It's nerve-wracking just not knowing who's going to want you," he said.
His foster mom Nancy says any family would be lucky to have Jacob as a son:
"I truly adore Jacob. We would love to adopt him, but we just aren't in a place where we can do that and he deserves a family. He truly does," explained Nancy. "I want him to find that mom and dad that can spend the time with him. He loves to fish, he's looking for a fishing partner. He loves to play sports, and he just wants a dad to go out in the backyard and throw a ball with him, just play catch with him."
Nancy also says that Jacob is yearning for a mom too.
"He and I are very, very close, we have mother son dates on Saturdays. We go to movies, we go to lunch, sometimes he pays, sometimes I pay," Nancy continued. "I would love to be in his life for the rest of his life. We've talked about coming to his graduations, his wedding."
But first, Jacob needs to find a forever family to see him through his high school years and beyond. And he's hoping the third time on Adopt 8 is the charm. We're actually hoping that we get to feature Jacob a fourth time in a success story.
If you're interested in adopting, call 1-877-I-ADOPT-U during regular business hours.
And we'd like to thank Boomers San Diego for inviting the Adopt 8 children to spend a fun day at the park.