"Born in St. Louis, Ricker experienced extreme trauma at a young age. “My mom was killed when I was 10. That’s when my dad got us and took us...

"My parents divorced when I was three,” Nichole remembers. “So, my sister and younger brother and I grew up with a single dad, which was uncommon then. We didn't...

Just about a year ago, Mike got laid off from his job and ended up turning back to the drugs and alcohol he had begun to use as a...

“I started using weed when I was 16,” Jesse remembers. “My dad hurt his back and was taking OxyContin. He shared them with me and my addiction kind of...

“Dorrine grew up in an extremely abusive home in Baltimore. “My mom started abusing me at the age of six,” she remembers. “I was different. I didn’t look like...

“There was a lot of physical and mental abuse,” Anthony remembers of his early years. “I thought that’s how life was.” “From the age of 7, my life was...

DeMarco grew up in a single-parent home here in KC. Although he was exposed to church and religion “it didn’t take root.” Instead, he spent his time in “the...

Liz swore she would never be like her father, a violent alcoholic and drug addict at whose hands she suffered every kind of abuse. Her escape was alcohol. “I liked the...