For the first 16 years of my life, I lived with my mother and twin brother.  Being bipolar, my mother wasn't always kind and affectionate to her family.  My brother began to rebel and I watched as he failed his schoolwork, our mother and himself.  This was not what I wanted for myself.

I left home and moved in with my father who was newly married with two children, ages one and three.  Although it was difficult, I managed to adjust to my new life and my new family.

My brother went to live with friends and continued to struggle.  He started smoking, using drugs and alcohol and was eventually evicted.  He came to live with us for a short time before once again, moving out.

Things were fine until my father became ill, lost his license and his driving job.  He couldn't support me financially and asked me to move out when I was 17.  I moved out and stayed with another relative but that did not work out wither.  I had to leave and there was no place to go.

I had to remain strong through everything.  I excelled in school, which allowed me to keep my mind off things.  While at school, my guidance counselor told me about the Jon Clark House.  I met with the coordinator and on April 20, 2007, I moved in.

Today, I am a Student Council Senior Advisor.  I am in the Leadership Class at Montcalm Secondary School and have won several awards in Math, English, Computers and Physics, including the James Kitely Business Award.  I've been on the Honour roll for four years.  I have a great job as a personal support worker for L'Arche London.

I have never smoked, drank or used drugs.  My goal is to attend Fanshawe for two years studying in the Developmental Service Worker program, followed by fours years at Western for Social Work, then four years of Computer Sciences and Engineering.

WAYS and learning to live independently at the Jon Clark House have given me the opportunity to succeed in life.  That means more to me than I can express.