Charon is a very mature 13-year-old.  He loves helping others, which is why, he says, he wants to be a police officer when he grows up.

"I have a lot of people that help me, I help a lot of people.  It just builds people up a little more," he says wisely.  "Sometimes if you're just nice to somebody, they really, really won't care what other people say -- they really won't care about what other people say as long as they got somebody that's helping them out."

More than anything else, Charon says he wants a loving, permanent family.

"I would like a family that would help me become a better person. I'd like to have a family that I could always say, 'I love you,' or anything.  When you have a family, you don't have to hide your feelings from your family because these are the people who love you."

Gloria Hochman, of the National Adoption Center in Philadelphia, says Charon has big dreams.

"He has a loving personality," Hochman tells KYW Newsradio.  "He's charming, and despite his past experiences, despite life's challenges, he faces the future with optimism."

For more information, go to the web site of the Adoption Center of Delaware Valley, ACDV.org.

Reported by Larry Kane, KYW Newsradio 1060;
Produced by Tim McLaughlin

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