Kareem was 6 years old when he arrived at that home as a temporary solution.
He had been through so many homes that no one trusted him anymore. He insulted people, hit, stole, and broke whatever he found in his path. He was so heavily medicated that he barely seemed like himself, and people were afraid of him. Frank Somerville, a journalist for KTVU in Oakland, California, and his wife took him in without knowing how long he would stay.
A full year of conflict passed before something began to change. Little by little, Kareem stopped fighting the idea of having a home. Three years after that uncertain first night, he signed the papers alongside a judge, making him their son forever. In the United States, more than 500,000 children are waiting for the same thing Kareem found: someone who would not give up.
