Hello! I am Kevin and I want to tell you about my story at Rawhide.

At just 11 years old, I have been in and out of foster care, treatment centers and group homes all over the state, which started when I was 6 years old.

Before I came to Rawhide, I lost a friend who was just 10 years old to gang violence and started to carry a weapon for protection. It was really difficult dealing with all of the loss I’d experienced in my life at such a young age and had a lot of pent up anger and began using drugs. 

It was not until I was sent to Rawhide that I started to be able to heal from my experiences and change my behaviors. I was very angry when I first got here, but I got to know the staff, started therapy and attended school on a regular basis, which helped structure my life. Therapy taught me how to deal with my anger in healthier ways than I had in the past. 

I am excited to live with my grandma in Michigan when I return home, and plan to focus on my schoolwork and continue healing. Getting Student of the Month was really important to me and I am so proud of my hard work that got me nominated for this award.

Thank you for donating to Rawhide so I could get the tools I needed to make better choices, and have a safe place to stay and food to eat.

Sincerely,

Kevin