“Mom died when I was six, and my grandparents got custody. My father was in and out of my life. I began rebelling when I was 13 and had my first child at 16.” A family member introduced Samantha to drugs, and by the time she was 22, she was not only the mother of two...

Dealing with responsibilities beyond her years, pain from two back surgeries before she was 18, and periods of addiction to pain killers, Cassandra grew up thinking “there was something wrong with me.” She went from caring for a step-brother and sister to having her...

I have lived my hell right here on earth,” Carolyn says. The hell of which Carolyn speaks began as a child, when she was abused physically, mentally, and sexually. It continued later in life when, as a single mom, she lost two children to a horrific car accident....

Joy and God have always been a part of Sabrina’s life. Her grandmother, an “amazing woman” named Victory, made sure that whatever else was happening, God and church and the Bible were there, too. The joy came from her father who played guitar and often had Sabrina...

In 2008, John, along with thousands of others in Michiana, got hit hard by the recession. When the economy took a dive and stayed there, one of the first things that went south was the building of new homes – and John’s livelihood. “They foreclosed on my house." John...

It’s a wonder Kasey remembers much of her childhood at all. Most of us would block such a horrific time from our minds. Raped and molested. Taken from her parents. Living on the streets. Placed in foster homes and drugged to keep her anger at bay. His denial lasted...