As a young girl, Teresa went through a hardship that not every child should have to go through. In the September 2011 article “An Unexpected Outcome,” she flat out explains how difficult her life was with a mom addicted to heroin, being homeless, having no food, and no one to love her. Heroin can really mess someone up and affect their relationships with other people. For Teresa, it was the relationship between her and her mom. She ended up taking a stand and Child Protective Services came to get her, and Teresa’s grandmother ended up getting custody of her.

At first when I read this, I thought it was going to involve something with abuse or death. Dealing with drugs falls right in that category. This young girl went through something I had hoped no one would ever have to deal with. Kids do not deserve to deal with something this drastic so young. It surprises me just to see the things addicts do to get what they want like stealing even from close family. I also can see how much it changes a person because her mom completely stopped caring for her daughter. Teresa made the right decision to tell Child Protective Services about her mother. Now she is happy, has a roof over her head, and dinner on the table ever night knowing that her grandmother is there. Teresa does not have to worry about where she is going to be sleeping or eating that night.

I can’t imagine what would have happened if I would have gone through that being so young. I sometimes wish I could relate to stories like this so I would be able to help them and show them how much they changed their lives. Some people who read that story would just start to assume that Teresa was a bad kid, but we shouldn’t do that. If a parent does something terrible to ruin their lives, that does not necessarily mean the child is going to copy the parent. This is why they need to be loved and have a positive adult role model looking after them.