Orphaned teen asks for a family, more than 10,000 respond

One teenager's wish for a new family is about to come true — and it might even help other kids in the foster system also find places to finally call home.

Davion Only's story went viral just a couple of weeks ago.

Earlier this month, the 15-year-old boy asked the congregation at St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church in St. Petersburg, Fla., for a family.

"I know God hasn't given up on me," Davion, wearing a too-large donated suit, told the congregation. "So I'm not giving up either."

Davion was born in prison, raised in the foster-care system and currently lives at Carlton Manor, a group home, with 12 other boys.

Also see: Teen orphan tugs at churchgoers' heartstrings to find a family

He tried to find his birth mother this summer, only to learn she had passed away just weeks earlier.

"When I found out all that stuff about my family, it made me want to be more successful, no matter what," Only tells ABC. "I don't want to go down that same path.”

"I'm not going to use all my bad stuff that happened to me as an excuse, but I'm going to use it as motivation to push me more and give me more courage."

So he took matters into his own hands. He started working on his anger issues, lost some weight, and made a public plea for the one thing he really wanted: a family "to love me for who I am and just to grab me and keep me in their house and love me no matter what."

Shortly after his story was published, hundreds of Tampa Bay-area couples called Connie Going, Davion's social worker, about adopting him. Others offered to contribute to his college fund, mentor him, and donate gift cards to the teen.

When the story went viral on social media, interest increased.

Also see: Couple launches billboard campaign with hopes of adoption

Davion was interviewed on the "Today Show" and on "The View." He told Barbara Walters that his dream family was "anyone who would love me."

More than 10,000 families from all over the U.S. suddenly were interested in adopting the Florida teen. His adoption agency had to hire a public relations firm to handle all media requests. Sixty volunteers were needed to field all the calls about Davion.

"It's not really cool not to have anybody," Davion tells ABC News. "I'm pretty happy and excited that people are calling and asking to talk to me and possibly be my family."

"We are following through with every offer, explaining the process to people and directing them to have home studies done," Going tells the Tampa Bay Times. "I have no doubt that, because of these inquiries, we will find a family for him."

Couples who have already passed adoption home studies are being considered first, as are families who have experience with teens and traumatized children. To keep Davion in touch with his friends and mentor, Florida couples are also being granted special consideration.

Also see: You won't believe how many kids this couple has adopted

Going says that adoption specialists will help narrow down the list. In the end, Davion will be presented with 10 options.

"He will have a say," she insists.

Davion could have his new family by Christmas.

"That's not the best part," he insists.

Many people offering to adopt Davion were unaware of how many teenagers — about 100,000 — are currently in foster care across the country. Several hundred of the inquiries are now expressing openness to considering adopting other teens.

By publicly asking for a family, Davion has become the voice for others kids just like him.

"I just want people to know that it's hard to be a foster kid," he says. "People sometimes don't know how hard it is and how much we try to do good."

"I know what it's like to have nobody, with no light at the end of the tunnel, no one who wants you," Davion tells the Tampa Bay Times. "I just keep saying, 'There's only one me. But all my friends, all the other guys at the group home, all these other kids need families too.

"I just hope they don't give up. And that someone gives them a chance," he adds.