The staff members voted her Female Resident of the Year for 2004. Julie received her plaque and a cash award a few weeks after Annual Day, since we had difficulty locating her current home. (Her name has been changed for confidentially). Julie arrived on campus one Saturday with a list of staff members that she wanted to see and hug.
Julie recently turned 18 years old and volunteered to be photographed. So in October I drove to her home to take photos for this article. She was excited when I picked her up. During the car ride, she explained that she had a few ups and downs, but that she really wanted to go back to school and get her diploma at her former high school. She also asked for prayers.
She talked and talked about those staff members who made her feel special and loved. She even stated that she wanted a career working with youth! The Methodist Home is one of her best memories...especially when you hear her talk about the tragedies of her past.
On a cold January morning, she arrived at the Methodist Home after having lived on the streets for nearly a year at age fourteen. "I wanted to change my life and I called my social worker to tell her I was ready."

Her grandmother was the only person she trusted outside of the Methodist Home. She embraced staff members as family when she felt comfortable telling her heart-wrenching life story.
Her mother is drug addicted and her father is in prison. She recalled, "When I was seven, I got dressed up 'cause my mom promised to take me to an Easter egg hunt. Instead, she took me to Texas with a new boyfriend and we lived in the car for two weeks. Some bad things happed to me while I was in Texas. I would beg my mom not to leave me alone at night, but she always left for work anyway. My grandma had to come and get me from the police."
Her life was a series of broken promises until she arrived at the Methodist Home. Once at the Home, she felt grateful for everything that she received. "I always had a meal I could count on and a bed to sleep in... The Home 'had my back'," she said in street lingo.
She also knows that she has a younger sister somewhere--she doesn't know where-- because her mother sold her for $3000 to pay for her addiction.
Julie is transforming her life, thanks to the influence of the Home and the love of her grandmother. She still needs your prayers. She is planning to pursue a career working with youth someday... because staff inspired her.