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A Bright Future for Marisol

Massachusetts — At 5 years old, Marisol was placed in foster care after enduring physical abuse. For the next 14 years, she lived in and out of group homes, giving up hope of ever being adopted.

“I always thought, ‘Oh, I’m going to get adopted as a young kid, everyone wants young kids.’ And so, to be honest, as I grew older and started to hit my double digits, I cried a lot more,” shared Marisol. 

Thankfully, everything changed when Marisol was referred to the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption’s Wendy’s Wonderful Kids program and met her recruiter, Scott, from the Massachusetts Adoption Resources Exchange

Through the program, the Foundation supports the hiring of adoption professionals, known as recruiters, who are dedicated to finding permanent families for children in foster care who are too often overlooked. That includes children with special needs, siblings and teenagers, like Marisol. Every year, nearly 20,000 youth turn 18 or 21 and age out of foster care. Without a permanent family to turn to for support, these young people are at a higher likelihood of experiencing homelessness and unemployment.

With Marisol close to aging out of the system, Scott worked tirelessly to find her a permanent family. That was when he introduced her to Heather and Edwin, who quickly opened their hearts and home to Marisol … forever. 

“Adopting a teenager is something that we’d always talked about doing,” said Edwin. “Helping other young adults has always been important to me, and I couldn’t think of a better way to do that than someone who is about to go into adulthood without a family to be there for them.”

Edwin, Heather and Marisol (adopted at 19) with her siblings and dog

Today, Marisol is experiencing everything life has to offer with her forever family by her side. After being told she would not be able to handle traditional schooling, Marisol recently graduated from her local public school where she participated in the choir and attended prom. 

“Seeing her cross the stage in her cap and gown. She came up to us and was just sobbing and was so proud of herself saying, ‘I did it.’ And it was an amazing moment,” reflected Heather. 

Most importantly, Marisol finally believes in herself and has the support system needed to thrive. 

“I thought I would be out on the streets, I would be on drugs, or I would end up dead because I didn’t know how to survive,” said Marisol. “And now that I’m adopted, I feel like it’s a dream come true. I’m really incredibly blessed to have a family and have someone that loves me, for me.” 

Right now, there are thousands of young people waiting to be adopted from foster care in the United States. If you are interested in learning more about foster care adoption or how you can build your forever family through adoption, download our free, step-by-step guide.   

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