CEO looks back on his life as a troubled teen By Michael Kennon Outskirts Press $10. 95 Remembering vividly his own pain, shame and isolation as a runaway from age twelve to early adulthood, CEO Michael Kennon hopes his story will let the untold thousands of runaway children in the U.S. know that if he made it, they can too. Kennon said his recently published book, “Memoirs of a Runaway: A Story of Hope,” (www.memoirsofarunaway.com), will let teens who have run away or who are … [Read more...]
Note to the Homeless: Get a Life at Our House
At Our House, it’s the children who get people choked up. It’s the baby blissfully being rocked or a little girl, with tongue stuck out, concentrating on putting a puzzle together with a gentle prompt from a volunteer. Most of these children have been neglected and some abused, but today they are safe with a staff member or with a supervised parent who is trying to get well and learn how to be responsible. Our House, which has space for 110 people, offers separate housing for homeless men and … [Read more...]
A Piece of Cake
Cupcake Brown (that's her real name) was 11 in 1976 when her mother died. Custody of Brown and her brother was given to a stranger — their birth father — who only wanted their social security checks. He then left them with an abusive foster mother who encouraged her nephew to rape Brown repeatedly. Brown got better and better at running away. A prostitute taught her to drink, smoke marijuana and charge for sex. Her next foster father traded her LSD and cocaine for oral sex. Eventually she went … [Read more...]
