Single Dad Adopts Three Siblings After They Passed 16 Foster Homes In 5 Years

Sep 14, 2022

Having a place to call home is something we all hope for and cherish. For three young children in Utah, this was a dream that seemed unattainable until they met a man that changed their lives forever.

Darryl Anderson from Vernal, Utah, made the decision to expand his family when he heard about a trio of children in need of a loving home. He met 4-year-old Miquel, 6-year-old Willis and 9-year-old Nevaeh in 2020. The children had spent most of their childhood in the care of the state.

The siblings entered foster care in 2016 and have struggled finding their forever home since. They had to deal with quite a bit of change, constantly moving from one home to another. The thought of changing homes 16 times in under five years would be hard enough for anyone, let alone three children. Luckily, they had each other to cling onto.

Anderson, a single father with three children from a previous marriage, knew he had to do something to help. He already had experience raising children, so he knew he would be able to take care of the three young children and give them the love they deserve.

Children thrive on stability and having a safe place to go to. There’s comfort in knowing you have food to eat and a place to sleep. Miquel, Willis and Nevaeh had never experienced stability, until Anderson changed their lives for the better.

He forever changed Miquel, Willis and Nevaeh’s lives when he adopted them in October 2020. The children were finally able to celebrate holidays with a family.

During an interview with KSL News in November 2020, the kids and Anderson talked about how appreciative they are of each other.

The video of the interview showed how seemingly normal the children’s lives are nowadays, with piles of Legos everywhere and scenes showing the children playing with one another. One of the girls talked about how much she loved playing with Barbie dolls, while her brother jokingly acted sick at the thought. The siblings also displayed their fun superhero and princess costumes.

They played in the snow with their adoptive father, throwing snow at each other and laughing. They have embraced their new family happily. The three small children appeared to have three out of this world personalities.

“They’re very close,” Anderson said about the trio. “They’ve been placed 16 times in group homes so all they had was each other.”

Anderson was conflicted on whether he would’ve been able to adopt. Ultimately, it came down to the thought of making the children spend one more holiday alone.

“There are kids out there in this world who don’t have a place they can call home,” Anderson said. “When Christmas comes, where do they go?”

For these three children, Anderson knows exactly where they’ll be: in his living room decorating the Christmas tree. The interview continued by showing the father excitedly talking about how funny his tree looks thanks to the children’s interesting ornament placement. All the ornaments are near the bottom since they can’t reach the top and Anderson wanted them to decorate it however they wanted to.

Anderson adopted the set of kids in October 2020. Their interview with KSL News happened during the month of November. November is National Adoption Month. According to the Children’s Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Adoption Month is a month dedicated to raising awareness about the urgent need for children and youth in foster homes finding their adoptive families.

This effort toward raising awareness started out small, but has grown since its humble beginnings in 1976. What originally started in Massachusetts as just a week dedicated to this cause became a nationwide effort in 1984. In 1995, the week was expanded into the entire month of November. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services expanded their use of the Internet in 1998 to help foster children find their permanent homes.

According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, many adoption agencies work to spread awareness about National Adoption Month. They work to educate their local communities through various programs and events, with the end goal of helping foster youth finding their loving forever home.

The theme of the month changes each year to help direct focus to various aspects of the adoption process. According to the Child Welfare Information Gateway, the theme for November 2020 was “Engage Youth: Listen and Learn.” This sparked the conversation about the need to help teenagers find their adoptive families.

The “Voices of Youth” section on the gateway site includes videos and narratives from foster youth discussing their personal experiences. They go into detail about the needs of foster children and youth, as well as ideas to help reshape the system.

For a lot of foster children, the future is uncertain. Anderson eased the minds of his new children by letting them know that their future is whatever they want it to be.

“I just want them to be happy,” he told KSL News. “I want them to know that they’re loved. I want them to understand that, you know, the past is the past and they get to make their own future, and it all depends on them”

The children seem to already be strong willed, settling into their new home, as well as physically strong as they jokingly flexed their muscles for the camera.

Anderson is now raising the children like they were his from the start. He has shown nothing but optimism for their future as a family together. “It’s hard, you know, just to adopt one,” Anderson explained. “But three? It’s three times the blessing.”

The love circulated around the family as the interview with KSL News progressed. The children told their new father just how much he meant to them. “We all love you more than the earth,” one child told him. “It’s because you’re a good dad,” another little one said.

The group, always together, completed their sweet thought with one last sentence of admiration:

“And we love you so much.”

Families come in all shapes and sizes. For this family in Utah, that means welcoming and loving each other no matter where you come from. With a happy family and a safe place to finally call home, the future is bright for Miquel, Willis and Nevaeh.

Do you have any new family traditions like the Anderson family? Let us know, and pass this on to anyone in need of a heartwarming story.