Last month I attended the funeral of a young man I never knew. To be exact, I think we had met a time or two, but to say I knew him would be far from the truth. Still, I went to watch him be buried into the ground. To honor his short life. To mourn his death. To stand by our youth as they said goodbye to a friend, a brother. To remember the reality of what could be for this group of people I so dearly love. His name was Gregory, and I have promised his friends I would tell hi

He had run away. Despite the fact he was specifically told not to, he ran. I was in Haiti for my annual summer trip working with the youth on their Individual Transition Plans (ITPs). Every six months our staff sits down with each of our youth and we discuss their individual goals for their future. We discuss whether or not they have met the goals they set 6 months ago and they set new goals for the upcoming 6 months. For some of our youth whose futures are more uncertain, ju

I (Jillian) grew up in a small town called Gray. Not grey like the color, but Gray as in, well, the small town in which I grew up. Gray is right next-door to another small town called Jonesborough, which is the oldest town in Tennessee. Jonesborough is the cutest of places. On Main Street you can ride in a horse drawn carriage, stop at an old fashion soda shoppe, and find some bluegrass band playing somewhere on almost any given day. But that's not all. Jonesborough is also h