The Unlikely Journey - Adoption Story Conclusion

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With the culmination of the day’s activities, several families were interested in exploring the possibilities of enriching their lives by having these young people and others like them share their home. Two single females spoke with Jeramy and Jessie after the conclusion of their training and were genuinely interested in opening up their homes.

Jessie and Jeramy were excited about the day’s events that took place. They both were actively recruiting families for themselves, which illustrates the need and desire for everyone to be a part of a family. As we left the building both Jeramy and Jessie were in a positive mood as we all felt like we had accomplished something for the day. We began to navigate our way back to I- 77 south we began to talk about their birth family and where they had lived in the Cleveland area. They knew the name of the street that they had lived on which was located on the east side of Cleveland. We decided to drive down that particular street since it was not out of the way to access I 77 south. They both recognized the single dwelling structure where they once resided on the third floor attic apartment. We saw young children playing, adults walking up and down the street and possibly some illegal drug activity on the periphery. They both were unfazed by all the activity, they were happy to just to be revisiting their roots and past. Jessie thought that his maternal grandfather had lived further up on the street. Neither Jessie or Jeramy knew their grandfather’s name. They both emphatically said “ we just called him grandfather”. I felt very saddened by the often repeated incident of so many children who are in care. They often don’t know who they are and where they come from; therefore, they share a vast emptiness and void in their lives. As we drove up the street Jessie suddenly blurted out “ I think that is the house “. I pulled my explorer truck over to the curb. I suggested we get out and ask the residents if they knew anyone who fitted the description that they had given me of their grandfather. We went to the back door where the mail boxes were located and looked at the names. Our attention was distracted by someone in the backyard hammering and using a saw. Jessie went back to the yard to ask the gentleman if he knew of their grandfather or any of their extended relatives. Suddenly Jessie starts to holler and shout” Mr. Chappell this is my grandfather” I could not believe it, perhaps Jessie is making a huge mistake is what I was trying to rationalize. Jeramy and I went to greet the gentleman that appeared to be around 60 years of age, medium height and built African-American. After the introductions, pleasantries and a lot of tears, I knew that this was their grandfather. The grandfather told me his story that he had been looking for his grandchildren for over 5 years without any success. During this unlikely reunion I was able to gather some valuable family information and connect both boys to a past that was viewed as a unsolvable mystery. The grandfather is very interested in re-establishing a relationship with them. I explained to him that he will have to go through an investigation and background check before we are able to move forward. The grandfather assured Jessie, Jeramy and myself that he is more than willing to meet the challenge.

After the reunion and visit we began to navigate our way back up I 77 south to our destination. None of us are sure to what the future will bring, yet we are nonetheless optimistic about the present and future possibilities because of a chance meeting on a sunny balmy fall day. To hear Jeramy state “ that is why I didn’t want to be adopted because I want to go back to someone in my family”. That statement speaks volumes about the work that CCR workers must do. You never know where your journey will take you or what path will get you there.