I am Alicia. This is my story of change, adjustment, and a brighter future.
Learning how to transition from adolescence to adulthood is a pivotal point for every person. When you add more troubles than necessary, like an unstable family, poverty or homelessness, many teens become lost between the cracks of life or sidetracked to alluring, but self-destructive lifestyles.
I became one of those teens in an unstable situation. After living with my Dad for a year things began to change rapidly and my once caring Father became more and more negligent as I cried out for help, and stability. Instead I received a deaf ear and the final ultimatum of homelessness with no where to turn.
The funny thing about life though is that it will throw situations at you that require you to search and survive.
I found that choice in Sasha Bruce’s Independent Living Program. With the guidance and support of the wonderful staff at the Independent Living Program, I have begun a new lifestyle as a bright, motivated, responsible, independent young woman. I have learned numerous things including money management, job skills, time management and community outreach. I am using these new skills throughout my senior year in high school and I feel better prepared for college than most of my peers.
Not only have I been molded and shaped by the staff to better myself, but to better others: like fellow residents, and the needy. The relationships that we build on a day-to-day basis remind me that with programs like Sasha Bruce Youthwork in Washington, D.C. there is a chance for teens. A chance not to slip through the cracks.
A chance to make a difference.
