At a very young age Kerri’s dad passed away and her mother fell into a life controlled by drugs and alcohol. Kerri found herself in an extremely unstable environment and always had a spirit of fear....

After his mom lost her job, Dorson was living on the streets. Trying to stay together as a family, he, along with his brother and mother, constantly moved back and forth between hotels, abandoned...

At the age of 18, Ryan became homeless. Forced to leave their home, he and his father had no place to go. Ryan spent his last semester of high school bouncing from one friend’s home to another,...

Mary was taken from her parents at the age of four due to violence in the home. She and her three siblings were placed with their grandmother. Shortly after, her grandmother found out she had cancer...

Neglected by her mom, Mariah was adopted by her grandmother at age three and lived with her until she got sick and passed away. After a short stay with her aunt and uncle, Mariah came to live at...

Josh would describe himself as talkative, curious about the world around him, and an avid sports fan. His future is bright and promising but it hasn’t always been that way. Josh grew up in an...

"When I was 14 years old I thought I had found love. He showed me all the attention I wanted, told me I was beautiful and that he loved me. It was not long before he began selling me multiple times...

"My younger brother and I were removed from our home when I was eight years old. For several years we bounced around between shelters and relatives’ homes. Finally when I was 12 years old we were...

“Before I arrived at Place of Hope I was frequently moved from foster home to foster home. Place of Hope provided me the stability needed in a child’s life. I arrived at Place of Hope when I was...

As a young boy, Gychnayder (“G”) came to the United States from Haiti to live with his aunt. They had very little and eventually G’s aunt could no longer afford to take care of him. As a teenager,...

"My brother Shawn and I bounced around from home to home until we were taken in by Place of Hope in 2006. During our first few months there, we frequently acted out in anger because we had been hurt...

At the age of 19, Del’Monte had aged out of a local group home and was trying to make it on his own. After being accepted into Villages of Hope, Del’Monte now had a safe place to call home and the...

"Jeannie was kicked out of her house when she was eighteen years old. She was pregnant and living in her car, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to for help. The future for Jeannie and her baby...

"Everyone calls me Mira. I am a 17 year old girl and have been at Place of hope for two and a half years. I had to come here because my parents were homeless and I was living on the streets. I...

When Monique was 18 years old, she found herself pregnant without any family support. With nowhere to turn, she reached out to Joann's Cottage for help. There, she received food, shelter, and the...

Katie is a 12 year old African-American female who came to Place of Hope due to neglect and substance abuse. This is the third time she has been in care. Katie and her siblings had a traumatic...

Mick was born to a teen mother and came into care because his mother tried to severely hurt him on several occasions. His grandmother was unable to keep him safe from his mother so he was placed...

My name is Ashley. Earlier this year, I found out that I was pregnant. I was only 17. I couldn't believe it. My mom and I weren't really getting along and this didn't help. When I finally told her,...

Growing up, Wesley never knew his father. When he was 15 years old, Wesley and his brother were taken away from their mother because of abuse and neglect. They were moved around to many different...

"My name is Dawn, and this is my story…I left my home when I was 21 years old. I wasn't sure what I was going to do with my life and didn't know how to live on my own. I went to Villages of Hope and...

"I came to live at Place of Hope when I was 12 years old. It was hard for me, to be taken out of my home and brought to a brand new place; however from the very first week, I knew that Place of Hope...