I lived in CPS since I was 3 yrs old, gone from shelter to group home to treatment center to foster home only to have to start over. I had been put in CPS (Child Protective Services) because my dad was sexually abusing me and my sisters and my mom was using drugs as well as my dad so I got removed as well as my two sisters Shannon and Alice. They tried to keep us together and keep us within the family so we were sent to my Grandma’s and that didn’t work out me and my younger sister Shannon were considered “out of control” and now that I look back on it we were. So me and Shannon were placed with Aunt Mary and Uncle Matt and my older sister Alice who was born mentally handicapped with a disorder called Cri Du Chat syndrome aka Cat’s cry syndrome was left in the care of my Grandma and is still there. Then we were eventually taken out of there as well and separated, because of this my sister was put up for adoption and I have not seen her since I was 8 yrs old. So I continued acting out and being angry pushing any one who got too close away from me it just gets you hurt getting close to people (it’s a problem I still have today) all the while getting moved from group home to group home foster family to foster family. Then Jennifer and Mike Smith were the foster home I went to when I was 16 they came out to Albuquerque, New Mexico to the treatment center I was living at for 3 yrs (the stories I have from that place…) and visited me and after a while I finally got to go back to Arizona and lived with them in Mesa they were the family I needed they were strict as all hell the only family that got me to eat Veggie’s *barfs* but they loved me like I was their kid it was more than I could say for the other foster families! But I made the mistake of pushing them away and asked to be taken out of their house. *clears throat* so moving on …

Now I am 19 yrs homeless and on the street. The way I see it I will not be on the street forever I am working on my GED with John at Tempe’s Tumbleweed and doing good so far! It’s hard to live as an adult but its something that we have to do sooner than later.

Thank you for reading my story...   Carrie

  *names and places have been changed to protect identies

YOUTH like “Carrie” need YOUR help!
Services that represent an annualized value of more than $690,000 that
HAD been provided by Tumbleweed and funded by State or County dollars WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE to the community next year. 

These cuts were phased in since January of ‘09 and represent...

$174,000 in cuts this fiscal year

We REALLY need your help so that our local  YOUTH
will receive the help they need & the care they deserve!

Make your donation ONLINE NOW
or MAIL your donation to:
Tumbleweed Center for Youth Development
1419 N. 3rd Street - #102
Phoenix, AZ 85004

REMEMBER... if you make a donation during the months of July & August, you will be entered in our RAFFLE for your chance to win some fabulous prizes including...
3 MONTH Family Membership to
"DC Village Health Club & Spa"
valued at over $3,000!

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT!