Twin brothers adopted from foster care at 2 years old embarked on a state-to-state walk to highlight the flaws in the nation’s foster care system.
Davon and Tavon Woods, now 26, walked from their home in Statesboro, Georgia, to Jacksonville, Florida, this week to meet with the biological mother of a 4-year-old boy killed in foster care.
The men hope their efforts, coinciding with National Foster Care Month, will draw attention to the abuse and mistreatment of foster children and let those children know that someone is in their corner.
“What’s happening in the foster care system isn’t getting the right attention, and there are so many innocent kids that are losing their lives,” Davon told Atlanta Black Star in an interview. “There are kids aged out of foster care that are becoming homeless, being incarcerated.”
There are currently more than 407,000 children in foster care, and 34 percent were placed with relatives, national data show. According to a 2020 report by USA Today, more than 600 children were placed in homes in Florida with foster parents who have been accused of abuse.
In Georgia, there were 26.3 reports of maltreatment for every 10,000 children in foster care, state numbers show. Over the last two years, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has pushed and passed legislation to increase foster care adoptions and protect children in foster care.
Davon and Tavon started the journey on Monday with an escort from their local sheriff’s office in Statesboro. By Wednesday, they had walked over 70 miles to Jesup, Georgia.
The brothers set a goal of walking 30 miles a day, but it has proved to be a challenge. While walking through the backroads of Jesup towards New Hunter, they encountered several dogs and had to face the smoldering heat. They’ve walked an average of 22 miles Monday through Thursday, sleeping in Airbnb rentals at night.
The brothers initially planned to walk 176 miles, but they were detoured during the last leg by rain. They had someone transport them closer to the finish line where they walked the last 4 miles.
The pair did not train for the five-day walk, so they nursed swollen and tired feet at night, but they said it was worth going the “extra mile” for foster children like James Reese. They dedicated the last 4 miles to the 4-year-old boy.
The Jacksonville boy died on April 23, succumbing to multiple broken bones, a fractured skull and other injuries after being taken from his mother and placed with relatives. Authorities are investigating Reese’s death as a murder.
Davon and Tavon have been speaking to Reese’s mother, Karissa Garcia, along the way, and they look forward to extending their support in person when they arrive in Jacksonville on Friday. Reese was removed from Garcia’s care after authorities determined her domestic partner created an abusive and unsafe home life for the boy, her family members say.
“I believe we don’t really have to say much,” Davon said. “By us doing this walk, it shows her that someone cares, and we are willing to go the extra mile to make sure that these kids’ stories are heard.”
While the foster and group homes have their faults, Tavon said adoptions could be the “scariest” for foster children because no caseworkers are checking in on them, which could create a situation ripe for abuse.
Although the Woods brothers were adopted as toddlers, they chose their initial path of substance and alcohol in their early adult years because of the emotional pain they felt from childhood, they said. Davon said they never felt loved by their adoptive parents and would often be yelled at and beaten for minor mistakes. Davon recalled feeling voiceless and suicidal as a teenager.
“We used to oftentimes see all of our other friends do stuff with their parents and the relationships they had with their parents,” Davon said. “We were like, dang, that’s what we wanted. So, just missing out on all that love and affection.”
The twin said there should be more safeguards to screen people who adopt or foster kids. They have dedicated their lives to the cause. The brothers were able to get finanical support through crowdfunding on social media, and they secured the necessities for the trip by posting an Amazon wish list.
“There was a lot of verbal abuse,” Davon said, who has since reconciled with his adoptive parents. “A lot of beatings and stuff like that for like little small issues that could have easily been talked about.”
The Woods brothers were considered “crack babies” when they were born. Child protective services took them straight from the hospital into foster care.
Davon and Tavon did not find out they were adopted until they were 11 years old. At 17, they stumbled upon their biological family one day at a South Carolina mall, but even that did not heal their wounds, Davon said. Their birth mother seemed emotionally detached from them, he said.
The twin brothers want to take their efforts to change the foster care system beyond the long-distance trek for awareness. They want to open a care home for foster children and transitional homes for children who age out of the system.
The Woods brothers also have a special message for foster children or adoptees.
“Keep pushing. Keep on because oftentimes in life, we get hit with a lot of stop signs, a lot of yield signs, but at the end of the day, you just got to keep pushing,” Davon said.
“They put a label on us, and once you get a label on us, it’s hard to take off,” he said. “You can beat the odds. You can be successful. You can be what you want to be, and don’t let that system hold you back.”
