After I wrote my last post, I wondered more and more about Hannah and her past. I wanted to know how she came to live at the Youth Homes. I wondered about her mother…about her many placements. Since I used to work at the Youth Homes I contacted Hannah’s therapist and asked her for any information she could give me without violating any Hipaa medical regulations. I obviously cannot and certainly would not put any details of her past in this blog but the information that I received gave me a more accurate picture of the kinds of issues that Hannah deals with each day. Even though I have worked most of my adult life in non-profit and even spent a few years working directly with kids in a group home, I wasn’t prepared for her history. I guess I forgot how difficult these cases can be. Hannah was no exception. She has suffered a tremendous amount in her young life and that’s about all I can say without compromising her privacy. I was blown apart. And it made me even more dedicated to doing my best with this commitment. I hope you will see that importance of the work the Youth Homes does for our area. I hope if you don’t live here you can seek out a non-profit that does similar work and support their efforts. If we don’t rally around these kids…they will become isolated and angry adults suffering from much and little hope for change.


Hannah’s staff wrote this about her birthday:


Today is Hannah’s 14th birthday. She has been counting down the days for months, and has made it clear that she has high expectations. Hannah wanted yellow, blue, and green decorations, a chocolate and marble layered cake, grilled cheese and homemade tomato soup for dinner, and the new Justin Bieber CD (among several other requests). I’m happy to say that here at Talbot; we try to fulfill as many birthday requests as possible. She got her blue and green decorations, she was able to make her cake (it was important to her that she make it herself), and her dinner was made. She may have to get in another cardio this week however, the food was delicious and filling!! She even received a nice gift from "Kim the Reluctant Runner" which made her scream with delight! (Actually there was high decibel energy all night with girly squeals and giggles! - a nice break from "therapy" and focusing on all the tough issues in her life...tonight was HER night to bask in the celebration!!) Hannah was surrounded by many people who care about her. Unfortunately, like with many residents, Hannah didn’t have any family members here to celebrate. It seemed as though this didn’t bother her too much, and hopefully this is because we were able to show her that she is surrounded by people who care and will be there for her. She got all the gifts she asked for and was surprised with a concert at the University to end her special day. Hannah was full of positive energy throughout the day, and had a hard time harnessing it. She was thankful of all the people who shared her day and is already counting down for next year, the big 15. 364 days...