Janice
(pseudonym, of course) left her mother because “my
mom just didn’t understand.” Her pimp
understood. One day he had her out on a window ledge
20 stories up and was pinching her legs. At 16 Janice
was learning things she really didn’t need
to know. One day she was caught and joined my caseload.
She was quiet, never a problem, confused. Sometimes
she talked wistfully of life on the streets. Sometimes
it disgusted her. She desperately wanted to be loved.
The love she had found was exciting, scary, degrading. |
So
what do we do about Jake & Janice and the thousands
of kids we warehouse every year? The secret is not in
the programs we develop, but how to fund the programs
so we can actually make a difference. If we don't fund
these programs, nothing happens.
Lessons
to Learn
* There are a lot of problems to solve.
* Solving these problems requires
developing funding strategies that work. |
|
