Selena's Story

When I was nine years old, I came home from school and found my mother unresponsive on the living room couch. Unable to wake her, I called 911. Within minutes the police and paramedics arrived and took my mother away.

A DCF worker came and took me to my grandmother and her new husband whom I had never met. Things were ok, until my grandmother died in a car accident when I was thirteen. I remained in the custody of my step-grandfather.

Shortly after the death of my grandmother, I started skipping school, smoking marijuana, self-mutilating, and running away. Eventually, my step-grandfather could not handle my behavior and placed me in foster care.

I moved around a lot while in foster care. I went to shelters, foster homes and group homes. Each time I would run away or act out in order to get kicked out.

I came to Brookwood at the age of sixteen, after 15 failed placements. I continued to runaway several times from Brookwood. Each time I was recovered and returned to the home. I was Baker Acted 3 times and each time I was released I returned to Brookwood. One day I asked why I had not been kicked out yet. I was told that I was worth fighting for and that they were not giving up on me. No one had ever cared like this before. I began to open up in counseling and built a rapport with my counselor. I disclosed that I had been sexually abused by my step-grandfather starting at the age of 12 and it continued until he gave me up at fifteen years old. I had never told my story to anyone else. I finally had the support that I needed to deal with my past and focus on a future. My step-grandfather was eventually arrested and sent to prison.

Selena stayed at Brookwood until she was 19 years old. By then she had completed high school, started a full-time job, and enrolled in nursing school. She currently works as a registered nurse in the neonatal unit of a local hospital and is happily married with two children.

Selena regularly keeps in touch, and never fails to thank our staff for the life-changing help she received at Brookwood. We couldn’t be more proud of Selena and all that she’s accomplished!