PSA showing true story of teen finally getting adopted and becoming part of new family has people in tears

Everyone needs love, young or old. Teens need just as much love as toddlers. However, sadly, teens in foster care don’t receive it as easily as toddlers do. Around one in five youth in the U.S. foster care system awaiting their adoption are teenagers. But for those who get adopted, their lives change forever, and so do the life of their foster family. In 2019, a national child welfare project AdoptUsKids released a PSA (public service announcement) on YouTube, in collaboration with Ad Council sharing the story of a teenage boy Jason who was adopted from foster care. The heartwarming shift that he experiences in his new life has attracted millions of people ever since to watch the ad, reported PEOPLE.

This PSA titled “At Home” is also a part of the “Foster Adoption Public Service Ads” YouTube playlist by AdoptUsKids. The ad opens with Jason standing in the front of a house looking at a wall decorated with framed pictures of his new parents along with their children. “Jason, let’s see your new room,” his new mom says. He follows his parents along a staircase and walks inside a room whose walls are daubed in pastel green paint and sunlight peeks through a curtained window frame. “What do you think,” his father asks. “We kept it a little spare so you can decorate it how you like.” Then the ad transitions to a nighttime scene when he sees his two siblings playing soccer while he is seated on the porch. His mother enters the porch and calls for dinner, signaling him to come inside the house.

At the dinner table, Jason seems reluctant to speak and join the conversation. But gradually he starts feeling a sense of belonging. The ad shows the entire family enjoying ice cream cones together and playing soccer. Then the ad pans into a scene similar to the opening scene. Jason steps inside the house – and again looks at the wall – this time there’s another frame hanging there with a photo of him. As his mother enters the screen, working in the kitchen, Jason walks near to her and looks her in the eye. He sets down his backpack and gives her an emotional hug. His mother embraces him back. The last moment couldn’t be more beautiful.

Meanwhile, an overlay text flashes on the screen that reads, “Learn about adopting a teen from foster care. You can’t imagine the reward.” The video’s caption says that there are more than 125,000 children in the U.S. foster care system waiting to be adopted, but older children often wait twice as long to be adopted as younger children. Of the 5,000 kids actively listed on their website, 65 percent are 13-19 years old, according to AdoptUsKids.

As part of the same ad campaign, AdoptUsKids also rolled out a video showing real people who had been adopted as teenagers. The teens enter the picture one by one, sit on a sofa, and read the messages their foster family had written for them. “Thank you for showing me what unconditional love looks like,” Dylan’s family wrote. Dylan was adopted at 16 years old. Maci, who was adopted at age 17 also read her family’s message from a handwritten note that read, “We are better when we are together. My life feels complete with you.”

“Our goal for these new PSAs is to continue to share poignant and emotional stories as genuine as the teens and parents who inspired them. Through these films, we can help prospective parents see the rewards that come with adopting teens from foster care: a lifetime of memories and experiences that both parents and children benefit from,” said Michelle Hillman, Chief Campaign Development Officer of the Ad Council.

While teenagers have a hard time getting adopted, they can actually offer so many elements of a fulfilling life to the prospective family. He can develop a friendship with them that will support them throughout their life. And these PSAs are doing a wonderful job in portraying stories like these. “These exciting new PSAs demonstrate to prospective parents that adopting a teenager means experiencing all of the love, joys, challenges, and rewards of parenting. Teens never outgrow the need for a healthy family, and many teens who are in foster care especially benefit from the love, support, and stability that adoption can provide,” said Aysha E. Schomburg, Associate Commissioner, Children’s Bureau, per Ad Council.