Brayden

Three little words. They can lift a heart – “I love you.”
Or break it – “Lose my number.”

Brayden’s mother used the words that break.

They argued by phone a week before Mother’s Day because Brayden wanted to come home in October. He’s been with us since March, and his time is running out at our transitional living home.

But his mother said no. She was making space at home – not for him, but for his older brother, due back from prison. She has no place for Brayden.

In truth, home is no place for Brayden.

We know that – and he knows it too: Home is dangerous. Home is surrounded by crime and people who take advantage of him. Home is what got him into trouble to begin with.

Still, he’s hurting. No matter how bad things are at home, it’s still home.

The lives of teenagers in our care are so complicated.

Parents don’t act like parents. Kids fend for themselves. They make mistakes, bad choices, end up in trouble. They miss out on important life lessons.

When you grow up like this, like Brayden did, there is so much to learn about independence.

And so much to unlearn.

Right now, Brayden is learning he can choose another way – a way that doesn’t involve a crime.

He’s taking classes for his GED in the mornings, working afternoons in food service, and going to the community college at night for a welding certificate. He’s got the best attendance record of anyone in his welding class.

He wants a better life, and he tries hard. Really hard.

We keep telling him he can do this. We keep showing him the way. But we don’t do this alone.

We do this in partnership with you.

Your gifts support Brayden in his walk to full independence – because he’s doing it without any other family or friends by his side. As a child of neglect, he needs more of everything you can imagine, from hygiene and cooking lessons to remedial learning to conflict resolution and interviewing skills.

Thank you for walking with Brayden.