SAN ANTONIO – Every time he takes a shot, Joe is banking on an escape.
He longs to get out of foster care and find a family of his own since he can’t be with his biological family.
“It's calming,” Joe said of basketball. “It just takes my mind off things, just stuff that's, like, what I'm in right now — foster care, stuff like that.”
Being on the court makes the 13-year-old feel closer to his family. He has two brothers and three sisters he doesn't see as much as he would like.
“Basketball makes me think I’m with them,” Joe said. “I don't know how to explain it. It's just like a feeling, like a vibe, for me.”
Joe hopes he will one day be with his biological family, but he also wants to find a home now.
KSAT asked him what he's looking for in an adoptive family. He responded with the following:
“I want people that are going to be there for me,” he said. “No matter what decision I make, I just don’t ever want them to turn their backs on me.”
He’s hoping that someone will think he’s worth a shot.
“I'd just tell them a little bit about my life story,” Joe said. “Like, if I do this, this is what happened. This is why I did that. This is why I do this differently than everybody else.”
Joe is in the 8th grade. He thinks college might not be for him, but he said he enjoys writing rap lyrics. His dream would be to move to Atlanta and get someone to notice his songs.
“I don’t record them or tell them to anybody because, like Anne Frank said, paper is more patient than man,” Joe said.
Whatever the future holds, he knows basketball will always be a part of it.
“Even if it's just a basketball, not even a hood. As long as I have a ball in my hand, I can dribble. I’m good," he said.
If you have room in your heart and your home for Joe or would like more information about fostering or adopting a child, visit www.familytapestry.org or call Family Tapestry at 210-503-4480.