"I never imagined I'd be in college," exclaims Tori Gentry, a 19-year-old sophomore at Atlanta Christian College.
She had been kicked out of one group home already by the
time she arrived at the Friday-Johnson Home, a residential group home operated by Fayette Youth Protection Homes,
a United Way community partner, for children ages 6–17 who have been the victims of abuse or neglect. "I was
determined to make everyone around me as miserable and unhappy as I was," Tori recalls.
"I was disrespectful, argued with anyone in authority and would not follow the rules."
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By chance or fate, Tori found herself the oldest resident at the home. For a year. She discovered that the younger
children looked up to her. With help from her teachers and friends, Tori dedicated herself to setting an example.
By the time Tori graduated from Starr's Mill High School in 2006, she had gotten her first job, learned to drive a
car, gone to the prom and even visited Washington, D.C.
"Through my years at the Friday-Johnson Home, I saw many, many children come and go," she observes. "All of us had
three things in common: We were all struggling to survive. We had all been abused. We were all brought to a safe place."
A program in Fayette County helps youth chart new directions for their lives.
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