Testimonials 1

Currently my father is incarcerated and he has been most of my life. My uncle
has been in prison as well. It is difficult to grow up not really knowing my father
and wondering does he realize when its my birthday or does he even think
about me at all. A lot of painful things happen to us kids when a parent is in prison.

My daddy did get released a couple of weeks before my birthday. Ms.
Gambrell asked me if I would like to see him. I said yes, only if she was
with me. She talked with him and asked him would he be willing to meet
me and her at the NMVI facility on my birthday.  He agreed. He was to arrive
at the 4:00 pm, December 4.

I was nervous and didn't know if he would show up or not. Ms. Gambrell
said that when she got to the office on that day, she noticed a male kept
walking back and forth past the facility, but it was around noon. Our facility
is in a strip center so there are other businesses and a lot of traffic. It was
also four hours earlier than the time agreed to meet. At exactly 4:00 pm,
that man she had seen showed up at the door of the NMVI facility.

It was him. He wanted to be sure that he got there on time, so he caught
the bus early. Ms. Gambrell met with him. I came out of Ms. Gambrell's office
and stood behind her, peaking over her shoulder. I wanted to see him,
but I had butterflies. Ms. Gambrell put her arm around me and I said hello
to my father and he said hello to me. We went into the conference room to talk.
It was very emotional. I couldn't believe it. I never thought that I would sit down
with my daddy, face to face without prison bars between us. He told me happy
birthday. Ms. Gambrell asked if we would like to go to birthday dinner together
Me and my daddy thought that would be cool. I had birthday dinner for the first
time with my daddy. We all cried. My daddy cried a lot and told me that he loved
me and he told me he was sorry for all the years he missed in my life. We didn't
care who saw us crying in the restaurant. It was an experience that I thought I
would never have. It was like a dream or something.

Shortly after that amazing day in my life, I learned that I had a severe blood
disorder and I ended up in the back of an ambulance with Ms. Gambrell,
several days in the hospital, having three blood transfusions. It was during
this time, lying in the hospital bed, that I learned that my daddy had gotten
arrested and was going back to prison for even more time than he had
before. Again, he wasn't there at a critical time in my life and one thing
that was so important to me was that he was at my graduation. Now he was
going to miss that too.  I got released from the hospital for the third time
right before graduation.

A friend of mine who was a member of NMVI talked to me about joining the
program. I didn't want to even talk about being in a program. They were all
the same to me anyway. My friend introduced me to Ms. Gambrell one day
in the hallway. I wasn't very warm to her and anyway, how could she really
relate to me? She was obviously a professional women, a professional
white woman, so I really didn't have any interest in talking to her. Every
time she would see me in the hallway at school she would stop and speak
and ask me how I was. She would come and sit by me in the cafeteria to
check on me. I wouldn't hardly talk to her. I didn't want to start to trust her
and then she leaves me just like my daddy. She was showing me
consistency which caught my attention, and she was always very caring
toward me no matter how I treated her, but I was afraid to let go of my
fears to trust. But one day I did and I cried and cried and she hugged
me and just let me cry, right there in the cafeteria. That's the day
everything changed.

I decided to step out in faith and trust her and join NMVI. Wow! I then
understood why all of the kids called her "Moma". She's got over 700 kids.
She went to the hospital in the ambulance with me and came back and forth
to the hospital to see me and took me to the doctor and helped me get some
of my perscriptions and things that I needed.

My dad has since written me a letter and asked me to forgive him and he
asked Ms. Gambrell to forgive him to. He said he appreciated Ms. Gambrell
being there for me and he thought the NMVI program was awesome.

I owe my existence to NMVI. It saved my life. I learned that I no longer need
the validation of others and that I validate me. I have my own voice and that
what I think and feel is real and my feelings are valid. Until I met Ms. Gambrell
and joined NMVI, I didn't think I would even live to be sixteen, most of us don't
think we'll live to be eighteen, but for me it was sixteen. I never thought I would
graduate.

I did graduate, the senior class of 2008. I will soon be eighteen. I stopped
cutting and burning myself. I stopped doing a lot of things that were harmful
to my life. I was doing these things because I was hurting.

NMVI is the very meaning of love. Thank you, Ms. Gambrell and NMVI. I am
so proud to be a part of our family and to support other children who are
hurting and dealing with life circumstances just like me. I am stopping the
madness. Prison is not an option for my life!      

                                           Shey, Family Member, 1 1/2 years

Testimonials 2

While I was growing up, a lot of people didn't understand me. My grandparents
took me to school...not my parents. Other kids would ask me why my grandmother
was always at the school and not my parents. My parents were in prison, that's why.
It was really hard, growing up with both of my parents locked-up. It seemed especially
hard at nighttime. I always thought my parents didn't care about me because of the
life choices they made. I was always told that I was going to prison just like my parents.
I remember feeling so hopeless and that I was going to end up in prison no matter what
good things I tried to do in my life.

I never thought I had a chance until I stepped into M. B. Smiley High School my senior
year. I was new at the school. I heard about a program called No More Victims.
I heard it was a group created for kids just like me, who had parents in prison and who were
needing to talk. I never heard of a group just for kids dealing with the same issues as I was.
There was this woman over the program and everybody called her "mom". This class wasn't
Math, English or Science. It was just for us and what we needed to talk about and what we
needed help with. I will never forget that day, September 15, 2004. That's the day that I
walked into the classroom and that one day and those few steps changed my life forever.
I finally could stop pretending about where my parents really were and I could be honest.
I could never be honest and it was awesome to talk about my reality and not be judged.
To be told that I was important and precious and deserved good things and that I could
choose whether to go to college, the military or anywhere else that I wanted to go. I didn't
have to go to prison just because my parents were in prison. I have the right to make my
own choices and going to prison is not one of them. No More Victims was critical for my life.

I am a veteran member of NVMI and I come back every week to support my brothers
and sisters and Ms. Gambrell. I want other kids to have the opportunity to know how
powerful they are and that they don't have to go to prison no matter who keeps telling
them they are. This program saved my life. Also, I am a senior in college this year,
Prison is not an option for my life.

                                                     Kenneth Woods, Veteran Member, Four years

Testimonials 3

The most important people in my life were incarcerated; my aunt, cousin, brother and my dad.
All of my painful life experiences have left me with an anger problem and have also made me
push people away.

I joined No More Victims in the tenth grade at M. B. Smiley High School.  The reason that I
joined was so I could be "me" and learn to deal with the hurt in my heart. The group, our NMVI family,
is a wonderful place to free your mind and be "you" and finally take the mask off.

NMVI has impacted me in many ways. My NMVI family has helped me with so many issues.They
give me support that I have been needing since my dad left my life. I could write for days on the
way my NMVI family loves me and keeps me from hurting myself like I used to; but there is not
enough space on all the computers in the world to display how important NMVI is in my life.

I graduated from high school and am planning to go to college. I come to NMVI every week
to support my family and help Ms. Gambrell. We are a family for life. I am not going to prison.

                                                                George Bogany, Veteran Member, 4 years

Testimonials 4

My mom, dad and cousin have been incarcerated. Now, my little brother is locked-up and facing
15 to 30 years in prison. He is only nineteen years old. In so many ways, I believe it's my
mom's fault because if she was there like she should have been, I believe that he would not be
there today.

It was hard to have a mother and then...not have a mother. I never really knew my father so how
can I love him. For a long time I really hated my life. When I was younger I tried to talk to my
cousins and some of my family about how I felt. They thought I was crazy and kept sending
me to live with other family members. After a while, I guess they said "forget it" and they gave
up hope for me. Then on of my relatives sexually assaulted me. I was so full of anger and pain.

I joined NMVI when I was in the 9th grade at M. B. Smiley High School, Houston, TX. I knew I
had to change or I was going to die. At first, I kept questioning...."why me"? But NMVI taught
me that it was not my fault. Now I know and believe that it was not my fault. Today, I love me
and I am still here, through all of the trauma, I am here. I made it through. I am no longer a
victim, I am a survivor. Prison is not an option in my life.

Be'len Izquierdo, Past Class President, Veteran Member, 6 years

Testimonials 5

My life has been full of ups and downs. My mother and father were married
for two years before I was born. My mother left my father when I was
approximately six months old due to his drug abuse. My mother kept
me away from him because she didn't want me to become aware of
the things that he was doing.

When I was twelve years old I started to be rebellious towards my mother.
I wanted to have a relationship or shall I say to get to know my father. My
mother finally agreed and let me go to spend the day with him, his girlfriend
and her two kids. We were having a great time... then it all changed. He
dropped his girlfriend and her kisd off. I was so happy that finally I was
going to get to spend some quality time with me daddy, just me and him.
The one thing that I always wanted my daddy to say to me was that he
loved me. I had never heard him say that.

My father drove us to some apartments. A man came up to the car. He
walked to the car like he was expecting my daddy to pull up. He handed
my daddy something through the window and my daddy gave him some
money. I knew my daddy was buying drugs. I asked him what it was,
he said it was some B. C. Powder for his headache. The man looked
at the money my daddy gave him and told my daddy it wasn't enough.
Then my daddy did something that broke my heart....he tried to sell for drugs.
When I heard the deal my daddy was making, I pushed the car door open
and ran for my life. I was shocked and devastated, running as fast as I could,
never looking back. I didn't want to see my daddy anymore.

Time went on.  I got older and met a boy. He was cool and we became best
friends. I really liked him and trusted him with my life. He was not my boyfriend,
he was my best friend. I told him everything. He was never inappropriate with
me or said things to me that about being in a relationship. We were cool. One
day he came to my house. He was drunk. He began beating me, then he raped me.

My anger had been building for years. Now I trusted no one. My guards were up.
No one was going to disrespect me or hurt me again. I began fighting and
bringing razor blades to school. I did not respect anyone.

The one day, this most amazing thing happened at my high school. There was
this light that suddenly came shining through my terrible storm of rage. No More
Victims came to my high school and began to work miracles. First they took a
survey in our high school regarding how many of us kids had parents either
locked-up now or had been locked-up. I didn't tell the truth on the survey. Even
though it was anonymous, I didn't want anyone to figure out that I had a father who
had been locked up. That means the teachers, the kids, nobody.

The kids that were participating kept telling me how great the class was and that
all of the kids had parents either in prison or had been and that we could talk
about anything. Finally, I decided to go to the NMVI class.

I was able to talk to other kids who had life experiences just like mine. I slowly,
for the first time, began to trust someone again. We were really a family, not the
type of family that lets each other down. We were there for each other. That's
what is so amazing...we had gang leaders, drug dealers, straight A students, etc.
For once, no one was judging each other or harrassing each other. Being able to
talk and express ourselves really took so much off of our minds, hearts and
shoulders. They showed love and that they really cared.
 
By Ms. G being white, some of us really didn't trust her until we got to know her.
Now we know it doesn't matter what color your skin is...it's how real you are and
how big your heart is.

One of the most favorite things that I remember about our family is when the
prom was getting close and me and my boyfriend at the time, didn't have any
money for prom tickets, the clothes, the hair or nothing else. So many of us
were disappointed that we couldn't go to the prom. We just didn't have the
money. Ms. Gambrell knew how much it meant to all of her seniors in NMVI.
A week before the prom, she surprised the seniors with everthing that we
all needed so that we could go. We were so shocked and grateful and we
all rushed to buy our prom tickets. We had a really great time and a memory
that will last the rest of our lives.

Another memorable experience was graduation. First, I never thought I
would graduate. Too much stress and pain to really focus on school. No More
Victims was the only reason that most of us even went to school. The NMVI class
was that important to us. If you participated in the program, you had to go to
class. It meant that much to us that we were willing to follow the NMVI rules.
I did graduate and it was a wonderful celebration.  Ms. Gambrell got three
limiouisines donated for the graduating seniors and we all went to a graduation
celebration dinner. I never thought I would finish high school with all of the
stress and pressures in my life.

Things started to change when I joined NMVI. I starting thinking differently about
myself and learning ways to cope with my pain and work through the rage I
was feeling and acting out. Creating this program just for us, specifically for
kids with parents locked-up and really listening to us and loving us unconditionally,
made so much difference in my life, all of our lives. 

I began healing and I decided to try to have a relationship with my dad again. I
heard that he was clean from drugs. I sat down with him and we talked about
everything. I told him how he hurt me and everything that I wished he had been
there for. He never defended himself and he took it like a man. He apologized
for everything... he grabbed me and hugged me and told me for the first time in
my life that he loved me. We've been doing good ever since.

Without No More Victims, I would still be a lost soul trying to find my way. Had it
not been for my high school offering this program and the commitment and
perserverance of Ms. Gambrell to stay focused and passionate about us, I
wouldn't have made it. Having the love and support of people around me that
wouldn't leave me nor forsake me is priceless. I owe Ms. G, Mr. Beasley and
Ms. Hughes and our NMVI family my love and support for the rest of my life.

They helped mold me to become the woman that I am today. Now I have two
kids of my own and I make sure that I show them unconditional love. I talk to them
and tell them everyday that I love them. Without NMVI's guidance I don't know
what kind of mother I would have become. Now I can lead by example. My kids
don't know that angry person who was willing to kill, fight and argue. They know
a mother that is calm, negotiable, understanding, loving and has their best
interest at heart so they can become the successful people that NMVI has
helped all of us to become. I stopped the cycle in my family. Prison is not an
option for me nor my children.

               Dequlah Woods, Executive Veteran Member, Past President, 8 years

Testimonials 6

My step-father is currently incarcerated and uncle, who was a father figure
to me as been in and out of prison. My step-father sexually assaulted
me when I was six years old while my little sister was in the room. My
mother was at work. He sexually assaulted my little sister later that same day.
My life was torn apart at a very young age. I am grateful that my mother
believed us and filed charges. When I was eleven years old, I was
raped by a seventeen year old who was supposedly a friend of the family.
I became afraid of everyone and often thought "what did I do to deserve
these terrible things that were happending to me". I am uncomfortable
to allow anyone to hug me at times, even my own father.

I can finally talk about my childhood experiences because for most of my
life I wouldn't talk about anything. I was in the 11th grade when I joined NMVI.
I joined one evening when I was at the NMVI facility. My sister had joined the
program while she was at M. B. Smiley High School. She would tell me that
NMVI was a family and you could talk to other kids and Ms. Gambrell. She
told me everything was confidential and you would be safe. I was in so much
pain and she seemed really happy about being in the program, so one day I
went with her to the  NMVI facility. I saw a whole bunch of kids there and they
reached out to me and talked with me. It was such a loving atmosphere and it
was exactly like my sister had told me. I knew I wanted to be a part of the
family and I really needed the help. I told Ms. Gambrell and the kids that
I wanted to join NMVI and we went through the voting in process and I was
sworn in that same evening. I didn't think that I was going to survive the
pain of my childhood and I wouldn't live to be eighteen years old.

I have been homeless and abused and hungry. NMVI has fed me and
taken me in and kept me safe. Ms. Gambrell had a washer and dryer
placed in the facility along with a shower so us kids could bathe and
wash our clothes. We have created our own community within our
community. I am working on my high school diploma through a program
NMVI has at the facility.

I am happier now and more at peace. I have more confidence in myself
and am able to speak at conferences and at meetings about my life and
the things that so many of us kids go through. I have been able to meet
some really cool people like Chammillionaire, Trae, Slim Thug, Michael
Watts and Paul Wall. It was great to see them support our program. It
was truly a great experience in my life. After getting my diploma, I am
planning to go to Houston Community College and major in Business
Administration and Music Production.

I appreciate the love and dedication that Ms. G and the family
members of NMVI have given me. Every child deserves to
have the NMVI program in their schools. This program will work
in any school, anywhere. It has changed my life along with 700 more
of us in the NMVI family throughout the northeast Houston area.
I was set free when I learned that the hell of my childhood was not my
fault. The behavior of adults is not the fault of the child, but we don't
know that if no one tells us. Prison is not an option for my life.

Jesse White, Veteran Member, 3 years

Testimonials 7

Both of my parents have been in and out of prison. My mother is
in prison now. As a result of my parents being locked-up, I was
placed in foster care. Nothing seemed fair in my life. I was sad,
scared and hurt. My parents choices and behaviors brought
so much drama and trauma to my life, especially to be so young.

I joined NMVI my senior year at M. B. Smiley High School, 2007.
It seemed to me like I was all alone in the world and no one
could understand how I was feeling. No one cared about me.
Other kids that were in foster care with me that had already joined
NMVI told me about the program and how much they loved it.
I decided that it was something that I needed too.

I was always told by family that I wasn't going to graduate from
high school and I wasn't going to amount to nothing. After years
of hearing the constant negativity and being abused, it ddeeply
impacts you and how you feel about who you are.

I got a totally different message from NMVI. I learned how precious
I was and important that I was. I was encouraged to graduate and
was told that I could be anything I wanted to be. I am such a better
person now. Being with Ms. Gambrell and the NMVI children
had such a major influence in my life. I did graduate. I am
working. I have my own apartment. I plan to go to college.
I am not going to prison. The chains of incarceration in my
family ends with me. I have great things to do in my life.

Jessica Washington, Family Member, 1 year

Testimonials 8

My father was incarcerated and my step-father currently is in prison with a
life sentence. My father was locked up off and on during my childhood. I
don't feel like I ever really had a childhood. I was the father figure to my
younger brother and I was only eight years old in that role. My father began
the violence that happened in my life even before I was born. He didn't want
my mother to have me. Three days before I was born, my father beat my
mother repeatedly in an effort to cause her to loose me. But me and my
mom survived. After I was born the violence continued. When I was eight
years old, he walked away from me one day, telling me that he wanted
nothing to do with me. At age fourteen, he pulled a knife on me and tried
to cut me.  At the age of seventeen, he pulled a gun on me and threatened
to kill me if he ever saw me again.

I spent my childhood feeling unwanted, scared, confused and thinking that
everything was my fault. Us kids in NMVI can all relate to each other
because we all have experienced similar life circumstances and feelings.

I felt that my family didn't care about me and never did my entire life. I needed
to talk to someone I could trust and could give me the family that I never had.
I over heard some kids at school talking about NMVI and they were saying
it was a good program and it really helped kids. The one most important
thing to me that I over heard them say was that everything said in the group
was confidential. That made me feel safe and I followed the kids to the NMVI
classroom. I was then voted in, then sworn in and I am now an Executive
Veteran and a family member for seven years.

It was awesome. I went to the class everyday. We talked about everything.
One critical thing that we all learned was that its okay to finally let go of
all those painful childhood secrets that had haunted our lives. We had
been told all of our lives that we had better not cry and  and a lot of us got
slapped for crying. I learned that I wasn't the only child that had been treated
that way. And I especially learned that it wasn't my fault. I always thought
I had done something to cause all of this bad, terrible stuff that I had been
through. I didn't know until somebody told that I am not responsible for the
behavior of my parents. Us kids don't know that if you don't tell us. We think
that everything is our fault. I started feeling so much better and I felt loved and
that I had a great big new family where I really mattered. I was happy and
felt that I finally belonged. It's critical that us kids have this program to go
to everyday during school. It saved our lives. It saved my life.

Some time had passed and my mom, now, had a new man in her life
and I now had a little sister, Nayeli. She was so cool. I loved her. I
also had a two year old brother. My step-father beat on my mom
constantly, just like my biological father did. I didn't want to be around
him so I was gone all the time.

Suddenly, on Christmas morning, 2002, everything changed.
My step-father, drunk, came in raising hell with my mom around
4:00 in the morning. He demanded that she cook for him and fold
the clothes that she had just washed. She was breastfeeding my
little sister. She said she would cook for him and fold the clothes
as soon as she finished feeding Nayeli. He demanded she do it
right then. He pulled a gun on my mom. She stood and said let me
put the baby down on the bed then you can shoot me. She asked
him to please don't hurt her kids. My little brother was laying beside
Nayeli. My mom turned and opened her arms and said "okay". He
fired the gun. She saw the flicker as the bullet left the gun. She
immediately took her hands and checked all over her body, sure
that she had been shot. But the bullet didn't hit her. She turned
and saw her baby girl lying in blood. The bullet had hit Nayeli
and had gone through her right lung and traveled across to her
heart. She died instantly...at eight months old. 

Ms. Gambrell learned about what had happened and went to my
house. No one was there. She left notes on the door and talked
to the neighbors. No one had been back to the house since Nayeli
had been murdered. I was sick with pain and rage for what had
happened to my little sister. My step-father ran and there was
a statewide manhunt for him. I was looking everywhere for him.
Two days later he was found.

We went to trial. Ms. Gambrell was with me and my mom
in the courtroom. Ms. Gambrell had recently broken her leg and
now had a metal plate with seven screws in her leg right above
her ankle. She had just gotten out of a wheel chair and now
had a cast on her leg. She was waiting for the elevator in the
courthouse. The elevators were full with a large crowd still waiting.
So Ms. G walked five flights of stairs to get to our courtroom.
She knew  we were already in the courtroom and how emotional
it was for us.  Ms. Gambrell was determined to be sure we were not
alone waiting for the trial to begin.  I walked out in the hallway
looking for her. I saw her coming up the stairs, holding on to
the rails to get to us. Nothing was going to keep her from being
there for Nayeli, my mom and me.  My step-father received
life in prison for the death of my little sister.

I spoke at the Melanie Rieger Conference Against Violence
in Connecticut in 2007 with Ms. Gambrell. I shared with the
audience about my life and about Nayeli. Lisa Pellegrini
planned a fundraising event along with other wonderful
people in Connecticut to raise funds for a headstone
for my little sister. Ms. Gambrell went back to Connecticut
for the event and thanked everyone and represented our family.
My little sister now has a beautiful headstone.  My mom
always thought that her little girl would be forgotten and her
little grave would not even have her name on it. My mom was
so happy to see the headstone. She cried and cried. It has
helped us to heal.  Ms Gambrell has a picture of Nayeli
in the lobby of our facility for everyone to see as they come in.

NMVI is my family and I have received more love and support
here than I have anywhere in my life. I will always come back
and support Ms. G and our family. We want other children
to have the opportunity that NMVI gave us. We want every
child to feel better that is hurting and to know they do count
and they do matter.  We need to be in every school, not only in 
America, but in every country in the world. This program
will work anywhere and everywhere. I love my NMVI family
and I want to thank NMVI for loving me. Prison is not an
option for my life.

Juan Mosqueda, Executive Veteran, 7 years

Testimonials 9

My mother gave me to my grandmother when I was three months old. She has
been in and out of prison all my life. As the years went on, I felt that she wanted
to do drugs and lay up and that was more important than me. My mom didn't
care about her three kids. The drugs had totally takenover her mind. My mom
was beaten up by two women and left in a motel on the floor. They took her clothes
and her money.  I told her to stop what she was doing. It made me mad that she
keeps putting herself in these situations. But she couldn't hear me. She kept on
doing the same things.
 
But ya know, life must go, so I decided to forgive my mom for all the things
she had done over the years. I allowed her to spend time with one of my
children as a good faith measure and she took my daugther's money and
spent it for drugs. Heartbreak after heartbreak.

If it was not for Ms. G and the NMVI family, I would have been dead or in prison.
Through the years I thought of so many ways to kill myself. But that all changed
when I became a part of a real family. 

I have been in No More Victims for eight years. I joined in my 9th grade year
at M. B. Smiley High School. I learned that I wasn't the only child going through
the things that were happening to me. I wasn't the only child to be given away
to a grandparent at three months old by an addict mother. Just knowing that
I wasn't the only one had a tremendous impact on me and how I felt about
myself. If my high school had not offered this program for us kids most of us
would not have survived. Many of us, if not most of us, would have taken
our own lives or someone elses and/or ended up in prison. Dropping out of school
was a constant thought. Nothing mattered, our lives, our feelings, nothing.
This program is needed all across the country and every child should have
the opportunity to be a part of our family.

I have two daughters, ages six and three and both of their fathers have been
incarcerated. My children are my heart. They are my life and I will be a stable,
supportive, loving mother to my kids. No More Victims taught me how to be
that parent. I am so grateful to have my daughters, Ms. G and my NMVI
family. No More Victims is a family for life and I will be a part of this family
and support this family for the rest of my life. I stopped the cycle. Prison is
an option for me. 

Shay, Veteran Member, 8 years

Testimonials 10

I have had many painful life experiences that I am willing to share with you.
My biological mother left me in the hospital when I was born. I was blessed
to be adopted by a wonderful woman who took care of me and loved me as
her own. I remember having a good life until my adoptive mother died when I
was six year old. From there, I went to live with my grandmother, then she
died. At that point, I began living between my sister and my father. That's
when everything when down hill. I was eight years old at this time.

As the youngest, I felt alone and didn't have anyone to talk to about what I
was going through. Aside from that, I lived with my aunt and that was hell.
So, me and my sister decided that we should go into the custody of
Children's Protective Services. That was okay, but there was a lot of
emotional and mental abuse, etc. there as well.

I joined No More Victims when I was in the tenth grade at M. B. Smiley
High School in Houston, TX. I joined because I needed and wanted a
family who I could talk to and who would listen to me and not judge
me... just love me.  

I thought life would get better and easier as I got older and finally
getting out on my own and further away from my childhood. It didn't.
It got even harder. I have just learned to live my life day by day.
I continue to have my NMVI family's support to help me work
through life. I come to the NMVI facility weekly and support the
younger kids who are now where I once was in my childhood.
Our NMVI family is forever and I will always give back and
appreciate what was given to me. I graduated from high school
and I am interested in joining the military....I am not going to prison.

   La'Trice Jenkins, Veteran Member, 4 years