Wednesday’s Child: Austin Hopes To Join A Family, Become A Police Officer

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Many children dream of the opportunity to spend some time with a couple of police officers and step foot into something that’s a few steps beyond a video game.

For Austin, trying out Unified Police Department’s training simulator for a bit of target practice is a dream come true.

“I want to be a cop when I’m older, and I want to be in the Marines,” said Austin.

Austin has a lot of dreams and one of his biggest dreams is finding a home.

“I’ve been in foster care since I was five,” he said.

He’s been in so many different homes, he’s lost track. He’ll move in, get settled, and then be told it’s time to head somewhere else.

“You’re like, ‘Oh, what did I do wrong? What did I say? What did I do to deserve this? Was it your guys’ decision, or was it because of something I did?'” he said.

Austin says despite all the places he’s lived, none of them have felt like home.

“I think it’s the fact that you don’t always really have brothers, and everybody calls you ‘foster kid,’ he said. “You don’t really feel accepted either.”

It’s no surprise Austin hopes to become a police officer, because he says those are the people who’ve reached out to him the most.

“I think just always being in trouble and being around cops, and I don’t know, they’re kind of an influence on me,” he said.

Without a family to help guide him, he says it’s been cops who’ve tried to teach him to stay off the wrong path.

“(They say) it’s not going to get me anywhere good, and would probably mess up getting the job as a cop,” he said.

Austin’s doing his best to keep on the right path and hopes one day soon, he’ll have a family to help make all his dreams come true.

“That feeling of having actual parents to rely on and just having a loving and caring family,” he said.

To learn more about Austin, contact the Utah Adoption Exchange at 801-265-0444 or at Adoptex.org.