TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – After a recent story about a 29-year-old man with cerebral palsy looking to be adopted went viral, an internet community on Twitter is looking to help bring a smile to his face while the search continues for the perfect family.
Jorge Murphy was in the foster care system as a teenager, until he aged out in his home state of New Jersey.
He now lives in a group home and yearns for more.
“My family would look like, it’s not about getting things, it’s about caring and loving. Yes, families have their ups and downs, but I want to get together with a family and have family reunions, stuff like that. I want to get to know what a real family looks like,” Murphy said. “It’s upsetting to me that I’ve been in a group home my whole entire life and these people is just getting paid to take care of me. And it’s not cool. I deserve better.”
Murphy’s story was brought to 8 On Your Side by his godmother, Connie Going. Going is an adoption advocate in the Tampa Bay area. Unable to adopt Murphy herself, Going is fighting to find him the perfect family.
A community on Twitter brought together by the Gabby Petito case saw our story last week.
While they primarily focus on helping find missing people, many want to help Murphy feel loved, even if they are unable to adopt him themselves.
Two women, known online as their handles of @TheSportyHelper and @TheTimeLineLord created an Amazon wish list to bring him some joy while continuing to get the word out to find a family.
“I really wanted to adopt him because it’s just my passion and you know, sometimes, life says, ‘no.’ But I could not let it go by and not do something about it,” said @TheTimeLineLord. “I think Sporty was the first one who said, ‘let’s send him something’ and so, we all decided to get together and it just worked out.”
“There was something about him, like I saw the video of his interview and there was just something so… like he was saying, he basically has everything that he needs in life, except for love,” @TheSportyHelper said.
The pair are seeing addresses from all over the world sending Murphy gifts, from Germany to Australia, to everywhere in the states.
They want to keep Murphy’s story going until his family is found. Sporty Helper, who is actually all the way in Canada herself, is keen to do just that.
“If we can try and keep [his story] alive then there are more chances that people all over the country, for you guys, to be able to see it,” she said. “So I firmly believe everyone deserves a family and everyone should have a family, and there are so many families in this world. I know and I feel in my heart that he has a family out there that is waiting for him, and he’s the missing piece to that family. But we just need to make sure that we can find them.”
@TheTimeLineLord created the Amazon wish list for people who saw the initial story to help out immediately. She said because their online community has a variety of people who specialize in different things, they can help out in different ways.
“If their love language is showing emotion and they’re able to write [a] letter and send it out, that’s what we need them to do. And if their love language is gift-giving, then we need them to have the opportunity to show him love as well,” she said.
@TheTimeLineLord also said a big belief of their online community is making sure everyone who needs it has their story heard.
“And I think that’s where this community comes in, is we’re very big on giving those without a voice a platform,” she said.
The Amazon wish list for Murphy can be found here. Families interested in adopting Murphy should reach out by emailing connieadoptionadvocate@gmail.com or by calling 727-501-2646.
