Brothers Reunited
Story by Service Coordinator, Liz Mosena
George was born on the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation. He went to live
with his Grandmother at the age of 3
until she could no longer take care
for him due to old age. At that
time, he was placed in the foster
care system since his parents were
no longer living and he did not have
any other family to care for him.
At age 18, he left the foster care
system and moved back to the
Reservation where he lived with
different people. When he did not
have a place to stay, he was
homeless, or stayed at the Human
Services Center in Yankton.
George & DuWayne
Most recently, he spent the last a
year and a half living at South
Dakota Developmental Center in
Redfield. In November of 2009,
George chose to start receiving
services at South Dakota Achieve.
Upon arriving, he was very excited
about having a fresh start, new
opportunities, and more
independence. Little did he know who
he was about to meet...
Meeting for the 1st Time
DuWayne! DuWayne
lives in Sioux
Falls and
receives
services from
South Dakota
Achieve. He too
has not had any
family contact,
and during a
personal
outcomes
interview, when
asked what one
of his goals
was, he said to
meet someone
that looks like
him, and he
pointed to his
skin.
Neither George
nor DuWayne’s
team had any
information on
relatives, but
were hoping to
find out if they
were related in
any way. With a
little research
done, we found
out that George
and DuWayne are
BROTHERS!
George and
DuWayne met for
the first time
on November 17th
of 2009. When
they met, they
instantly had a
connection.
They spoke for over
a half hour and
exchanged phone
numbers and
addresses. Since
then, they have
talked on the phone,
spent the
Thanksgiving &
Christmas holiday
together, and have
gone to a Stampede
hockey game.
After talking with
both of them, George
had never been told
he had a brother,
and DuWayne was told
that his brother
George had passed
away at a young age.
This is a true
story, of how family
connections are
built and how dreams
do come true!!
