“I love this place...Before this I never had anybody to love me. The first time I experienced unconditional love was here. We’re like family.”

Ellie*, 18, first came to Morrison's Rosemont program with the intent to run away at the first opportunity. Now, two years later, she wishes that she did not have to leave. Growing up Ellie did not know love. She knew drugs – using, dealing, and watching friends and family members live and die through its torture. She knew abuse in all its horrid forms. She knew gangs.

Upon her arrival at Morrison, Ellie found it extremely difficult to speak about her terrible childhood experiences. As a tool to help her express herself, Ellie began participating in art and dance therapy. She found that these doors to her creativity also allowed her to unearth deeper emotions, and to discuss them with staff members. Not only did this serve as a turning point towards healing for Ellie, it also allowed her to discover an incredible aptitude for painting that she had not been aware she possessed.

Work with therapists has helped Ellie to deal with mental health and substance abuse issues. They have helped her to discover that she is an intelligent, honest, and caring person. She feels that the staff fostered her abilities and helped her to become a complete person.

Morrison helped Ellie to discover herself emotionally, physically, and mentally through reinforcement, encouragement and support. Living in a residential treatment center with other teenage girls has helped her to understand that she is not the only child who has overcome such a painful past. After she leaves Morrison, Ellie plans on completing her high school education and pursuing a possible career as a painter. A world that once seemed full of nothing but pain and torment is wide open for this extraordinary girl.

More about the Rosemont program that helped Ellie
Other Success Stories

* Names and certain events have been changed to maintain confidentiality and to protect the children and families we serve