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SALT LAKE CITY — The Pride Center has been in downtown Salt Lake City for the past four years. Emmet has never been there before and taking a tour is something he's wanted to do. On Wednesday, it finally happened.
Utah is a long way from Emmett's first home: an orphanage almost 3,000 miles away in Haiti. "My mom put me in an orphanage when I was around 3 years old," said Emmet.
Emmet was only 9 years old in 2010 when the ground began to shake. "I remember seeing dead people on the ground," he said. "I remember seeing little children on the ground."
It's estimated 130,000 people lost their lives that day. "A lot of people died that I cared about," he said. "It was just devastating."
"I still feel some guilt and shame about it," he said. He feels guilt and shame because he got out.
A family here in Utah adopted him, but it didn't last. "The day after my birthday I got into state custody," he said.
For the past two years, he's been hoping for adoption and for somewhere to belong. On Wednesday, for a little while at least, he's found it.
"I feel like I can be me," he said. "I feel like I'm at peace and I'm at ease with myself and like I'm at home," he said.
He's not home yet.
"I want to have a family again," he said. "I just want to start over. I have a bunch of plans to do great things," he said.
He can't do it all alone.
"All I really want and all I really need is for someone to love me," he said.
To learn more about Emmet, contact The Adoption Exchange at 801-265-0444.
