Katrina's Story

“Katrina, as she puts it, “did not have the fairy tale life.” My parents didn't care about me or anything that had to do with me. They suffered from abuse themselves, and in return I was abused in every way possible.”

Like many young people who have suffered from abuse and neglect, Katrina yearned for a means of escape. When she was 12 years old, she turned to drugs—got herself into a “mess of trouble”—and continued using until she was 19. She received her first charge for possession of marijuana at 18. A month later, she was charged again, and received her third charge six months after that.

While trying to deal with a drug problem now escalating out of control, Katrina found out that she was pregnant. Facing jail time, she knew that she needed to make a change in her life, and soon took the first step by turning herself into rehab. “I got out three months before I had my son,” she says, “but with my boyfriend in jail and family I could hardly turn to for help, I was still stuck with nowhere to go.” About to be a single, unemployed mother, Katrina knew that she had to find something quick.

When she heard about American Youth Works through a friend, Katrina was skeptical, but decided that it couldn't hurt to check it out. “I met with a counselor and he told me that not only would I receive job training in the Environmental Corps (E-Corps) program, I would earn a stipend, receive child care benefits, food stamps, counseling, and even earn money for college. I kept thinking, what's the catch? This was too good to be true. But there was no catch; it was my best chance to take care of myself and my son.”

Katrina, now 21, has been with E-Corps for over one year, and has finally found the change she was looking for. Of the AYW staff, Katrina says, “They are here to support me. They love my child. The people here have become my family.” On top of this, she now earns money to care for her child, and is able to plan for her own future, her education, and set goals for herself.

Recently, she played a large role in building a new handicap accessible trail in the Zilker Botanical Gardens. Aside from learning to “chainsaw a tree like nobody's business,” Katrina has developed skills in landscape design, stone masonry, and hardscape construction. “The training I have received is something that I could use for a future career. I am really proud of that project and I can't wait to sit my son on the wall that I built and say, ‘your mom made this, I made it just for you.'

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