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“The moment you realize a family member…is on drugs, your whole world changes…we are scared and don’t know what to do…You feel abandoned and hopeless. You feel depressed and angry...Because of the relationship with my mother, my grades have been slipping…To help a child out who is going through this, just be by their side 100 percent. Another thing you can do is to not blame the child for the mistake the family member makes.”

by Shaakira Bannister
8th grader at Kelly Miller Middle School in 2013

“Jason...asked me for a pen. ... ‘Get away from me you racist skinhead,’ I said. I could tell from the look in his eyes that I had made a mistake. ...He said it was okay and asked me why I thought he was a racist. I told him. He said he was bald because he recently finished chemotherapy. Jason has leukemia. ...Today I try not to judge others because not doing so can help me become a better person.”

by Erick Whitaker
9th grade student at Jefferson Junior High in 2003