by W, CCWF in Chowchilla, CA
The stranger who changed my life was my high school/continuation teacher, Ms. Braver. I was new to the city and was in juvie, but because my parents were still commuting over fifty miles away to work daily, the judge refused to release me without twenty-four hour supervision.
My parents talked to my school teacher and she not only agreed to supervise me thirty minutes before school, but until my dad came home each day. This lady was a total stranger to me, and I to her, yet she committed to supervising me so I did not have to go to placement. I ended up getting a summer job with the school district when my teacher got a supervisory position in the district office.
I finally, against all odds, graduated. Ms. Braver was one of the last phone calls I made before my arrest, just to say “thank you.” She was a stranger I CHOOSE today to be just like, changing lives.