Jennifer had given up any hope of success by the time she came to live at Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children’s Dixon Center in Western Kentucky. She had endured years of physical, mental and sexual abuse from her father before she had even turned 10. By the time she was 11, she was taken away from her family and started a long journey through various programs designed to help her. Help, though, was a long time in coming.

“I kept moving to different placements, but I was never successful,” Jennifer said. “I guess I was still holding onto too much hurt. It’s really hard to deal with.”

At the KBHC Dixon Center, though, things started to change. Along with the counseling and comfort she received from staff members, Jennifer, now 18, had a chance to experience some of the things she had only dreamed of.

“I really like going to different restaurants and amusement parks,” she said. “I was never able to do that before. Many kids don’t get to experience that. That probably sounds weird to a lot of people, but I was one of those kids.”

Jennifer finally found success while at Dixon, graduating from high school and the KBHC program. Most importantly, she’s coming to terms with the hurt from her past. She recently wrote her father a letter to let him know she is healing. She hasn’t received a response yet, but said she has “the faith that he will write me back.”

Jennifer will enter an independent living program in Northern Kentucky that will support her as she lives on her own for the first time. She plans to get a job and start college in the fall, choosing a career in social work or child care.

“I feel like I’ve been through so much, that maybe I can help other kids,” she said. “I really appreciate all that they’ve done for me here. I hope that they can continue to touch other people’s lives as they’ve touched mine.”