

Success Stories

Emergence:
Diana's Story
A drug deal gone wrong. A dead body. A young woman's life in tatters.
For Diana, life could very easily have turned out differently. At 15, she was living in a drug house and getting ready to make a living on the streets selling drugs. One day, Diana was awakened by the sounds of an argument, and by the time it was over, a young man was dead, brutally murdered by two of her housemates.
Watch Diana's Story
I started law school right after I graduated. So, it was actually surreal in a way, that I remember being in law school and thinking that six years ago, I was in jail. My mother married a man that was...he was addicted to crack. One day, he got into a very heated argument with my older sister. He told my mom that my older sister and I had to move out, but that my younger sister could stay. At the time, I think I was 14. Eventually, you have to earn your keep, in some kind of way. And so, we asked them to teach us how to sell drugs. I was sleeping and I heard fighting, out in the living room.
They dragged him into a bathroom. Then I saw one guy leave the bathroom and grab a knife. And one guy grabbed...it was a broken doorknob. So, I just kept hearing screaming and screaming and screaming and it went on for, I don't even know how long, until it stopped. The guys came out of the bathroom and they were like, "Diana, clean that up." And I looked and there was just blood...everywhere. And he was dead. And so, I just was in shock. I mean, I'd never... I got to stop for a minute there.


