Charlie, fourteen years old, is the oldest of ten children. Charlie’s young life was chronicled by severe neglect. Charlie’s mother suffered significant mental health issues and, being the oldest, he was expected to care for his younger brothers and sisters. He often found himself caring for his mother as well. One day, his mother’s boyfriend beat Charlie so badly, he had to be hospitalized. That is when Charlie, along with his brothers and sisters, entered foster care.

Charlie’s journey was a difficult one. He was used to being in control, being the adult and being the disciplinarian. Because of his behaviors, he was moved from one foster home to another. Then he met Jerry, his CASA volunteer. When yet another move was being planned, Jerry spent a great deal of time talking with Charlie about the kind of family he would like to be with. He accompanied him as he met different possible families, helped him to ask questions and talked with him about how he felt about each.

This spring, Charlie moved in with his new foster family. Jerry kept in constant contact with Charlie and his foster parents. When Jerry learned that Charlie wanted to try out for his high school football team, he started taking him to the gym to prepare for tryouts. Even though he is now a junior in high school, he had never participated in an organized sport. He made the team and they made it to the playoffs! Charlie is making friends, keeping his grades up and even went to the Homecoming Dance. He told Jerry, “I feel like this is a dream … I’m going to wake up and it’s all going to be gone. I love it here.” Charlie’s foster parents want to adopt him and Charlie, for the first time ever, wants to be adopted.