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ADVENT
GROUPMINISTRIES
Counseling Services Group Homes
Foster Homes

90 Great Oaks Boulevard, #108 San Jose, CA 95119-1314 (408) 281-0708 Fax (408) 281-2658 E-mail: Advent@adventgm.org www.adventgm.org

May 2013
Dear Sam and Jit Fong,

Every day teens come to Advent haunted by nightmares of abuse, violence and neglect. They have learned to deaden their pain through drugs and alcohol. They've turned to g angs, prostitutionnddrug dealing touwive-Theipyoungjives have spiraled out of control and they are without hope, without a future, wondering if anyone cares. At Advent, our job is to help these kids reclaim their hope for a future, realize their potentia! and restore their lives. And that is what we strive to do, each and every day, for the teens we serve. Melissa is one of those teens.

Melissa's parents were both addicts who did not care for her as parents should. She was first exposed to drugs in utero. As a toddler, her mother used drugs to calm her down when she was hyper.
Melissa was severely abused, sexually, physically and emotionally, at a very young age. At 8 years old, she first began using "meth."

When Melissa was only 9 years old, her mother died. Her father was in jai! (as he has been for most of her life), so Melissa entered the system as a ward of the court. She bounced between foster placements and recovery group homes, ending up in juvenile hall after a relapse.

-T-Mffivtelissa

This wasn't Melissa's first time in a recovery home and she wasn't thrilled to be in another one. She was resentful of the fact that her Iife was not in her control, that others dictated what she could and could not do. She was confrontationalwith staff and she blamed others for all her troubles.

These are understandable reactions. After all, the odds were stacked against her from the beginning, through no fault of her own. But part of recovery is taking ownership of your actions, and that is what Melissa came to Advent to learn how to do. According to her Advent social worker, Melissa has been doing very well

State Certified Alcohol and Drug Recovery programs

in her program. She has been learning how to be honest with herself and 9thep. She is figuring out the difference between healthy and unhealthy confrontation. She has been very focused on her recovery and working diligently towards her goals. She's even managed to "phase up" to Phase 4 in her recovery program (phase-S is the highest) - a huge achievement. Even though she came from such tough circumstances, she has done very well in school. ln January, Melissa graduated from high school, and a small party was thrown for her at Advent, with house staff and other clients attending the celebration. Shortly after graduating, she enrolled in a local community college and started courses in child development. She is currently going to school part time, looking for employment, and continuing with her program at Advent.

Melissa's plan is to transition into a local sober-living environment where she can complete her education and begin her life as a responsible, independent woman. Her long-term goal is to become a human resources advocate for youths kids who have grown up in the social services system like she has.
Recovery is filled with pitfalls, but we know that Melissa now has the toots and treatment she needs to dealwith whatever life throws at her. What she needs now is your prayers - prayers that she will stay on the right track, that she will seek help when she needs it, and that one day the seeds of the gospel that were planted in her at Advent willtake root. Would you consider making a donation to Advent so that we can continue helping kids like Melissa? Or perhaps you would consider mentoring one of the teens in our recovery program? Whatever you can do will make a differencgand help us to break the destructive cycles of abuse and neglect in our community.

Thank you for your support. we couldn't do this without you.

Sincerely,

Mark Miller

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