Trevor* was referred to us from our friends and comrades at Erie County Probation. The Probation Officer who reached out knows us well and said, “He really needs you [POTC].” At first, Trevor rarely spoke and did not make eye contact. Though he came a long way as months passed, his kind nature was deeply buried under neglect and fear. Trevor was holding his own, but then his father died of an overdose, and he was arrested again.

When Asia (POTC staffer) and I visited him in the detention center, we played cards and talked about choices he still has. He seemed to understand, but his brother’s, father’s, and mother’s addiction riddled his childhood and teen years with anxiety and poverty.

The trauma that goes with all of this got its teeth in him.

Yet . . .

He was released from jail last September and recently became a father himself. Asia helped him get a third-shift job at UPS.

Trevor continues to work hard there and be a loving father to his son.

Watch for the Light.

-Diann Takens, Founder & Executive Director