Central Texas teen adopted by Ohio woman who saw KWTX report

WACO, Texas (Telemundo Waco) – A Central Texas teen who was in foster care now has a forever home, and her foster mom found her when she watched KWTX on TV.

Luvlee was in a group home when she appeared with Pete Souza in his Foster Care Project segment.

“Luvlee’s video came on my TV and I was like ‘Wow let me watch this video,’” says Tonjia Coverdale, the foster mother. “When I saw her there was a spark in her eye. I can see this bright light, and right away I said, ‘She has to come with me.’

From there, the process began to adopt Luvlee from over a thousand miles away.

“I just knew that she was in Texas, in central Texas, and that’s all I knew,” Coverdale said. “She knew how old she was and she knew she was in central Texas. That’s all.”

Coverdale never planned to adopt, but said Luvlee’s intelligence and manner changed her mind.

Luvlee couldn’t believe it when her adoption caseworker told her.

“I thought?’. I thought Ms. Amanda was playing me because she said she was someone from Ohio,” Luvlee said. “I thought, ‘Ohio?’ I forgot Ohio existed and so that’s when Mrs. Amanda came over and said, ‘yes, I want to go there.’

Now, Luvlee said she lives with a loving and welcoming family in Ohio.

“It feels good because they are always there,” he said. “They’re like a talkative family, and I don’t think my family was like that. I’m still not used to it, but it’s good. I like it because it shows, how, love”.

Coverdale said they are focusing on helping Luvlee transition between schools and settings, but her two new brothers and dog have enjoyed their time together over the last month.

“She is like the missing piece of a puzzle,” he said. “She just fits right in here, and I’m so happy she’s here.”

While Luvlee is grateful to find her forever home, she hopes her story will inspire her docks to never give up hope of finding theirs.

“Don’t be discouraged because I know for a long time I thought, ‘Okay, I’m going to be 18…in this place, and I’m here now,’” he said. “It’s like, ‘have faith and have hope.'”

Coverdale hopes that other parents will consider giving faith and hope to more teens in foster care to give them a home for a crucial part of their lives.

“I really feel that more people need to consider adopting older children, but I think the wisdom… that they can give you just from their life experiences is very empowering,” she said. “Why not share your life with someone who would really love and appreciate and really benefit from a little amount of guidance?”

Luvlee plans to continue striving to be an example of defying the odds while living in foster care. She is determined to go to Harvard and be a criminal defense attorney. She also looks forward to continuing to know and love her new family.

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