• Krista, now 17 years old, is a private intake from a broken home. Both parents are in the area, but can not handle her. She would be home alone for long periods of time. This would give her time to do anything. She was sullen and disrespectful when she came. She lived with the Keenons for 18 months. She is very overweight because of poor self-esteem. Now she has responded. She has lost some weight and is very involved in our church youth group and has been selected as a student leader. Jill home schooled her because of conflicts at school. She came to us before being involved in the system.
• Sonia is a little slow. She is 15 yrs. old and operates on a fifth grade level (11 yrs old) emotionally, psychologically, and educationally, but looks 18 yrs. old physically. She has a physical deformity to her shoulder, causing a handy-cap. She was a "crack" baby and has been in several residential homes and foster homes. Her mother was always on drugs, beat her, and tormented her from birth. One foster mother held a gun to her head at 11 because she reported that she had been raped by the foster parents’ son. She has been raped by five men in and out of her family. She has had a house burn down while she was in it, with her little brother and sister and one other foster child when no one else was home. She is a delight in our lives and is a volunteer at a nursing home and youth center. This is unusual for this type of abuse.
• Amy’s mother had her out of wedlock between marriages. Her mother’s second husband adopted Amy and then they divorced. She had a second stepfather by the time she was 6 yrs. old. He raped her at age 9 or 10. Her mother abandoned her and disowned her for saying the man molested her. Amy is Bi-Polar (manic-depressive) and ADHD. She has been in multiple placements and has been asked to leave because of her erratic behavior. Amy lived with her 77 year-old grandmother and became too much for her to handle. Grandmother calls every day to check on her and is very concerned about every aspect of her life. Amy’s mother and grandmother are also Bi-Polar. This is cause for much hysteria and apprehension running through the family. Her long term prognosis is not good for independence. Amy is sixteen years old and is in a special school for emotional and behaviorally challenged teens. She could not sleep at night and would get up and eat large quantities of food and talk on the phone all night, missing school the next day. Now she is in school daily and sleeps every night. Authorities can not believe the change.
• Holly, 16 yrs. old, has a history of violence. She came to us from the DuPage County Youth Home. She lived with her divorced alcoholic mother. Mom is the abusive and aggressive type alcoholic. Dad is also abusive to Mom and the siblings. Holly was in the youth home because during one of the family feuds she broke her mother’s arm. She has had several incidents of violent behavior at school and with friends. Now she is on the mend and is learning to control her anger and her grades are improving. She has begun counseling with her parents separately. She has not spoken to her father in six months. She is a demure, unassuming, quiet girl. She was a cheerleader until her school changed.
• Jessie, 15 yrs. old, also has two alcoholic parents. Her story is too long to tell accurately. Before she came to Open Door she had been in at least ten foster homes and fourteen schools from the age of six to fifteen. Both parents molested her and her younger sister by the time they were ten. She had a great deal of trouble getting along with any foster parents and her sister did better and was adopted by their last foster parents. Jessie could not go through with the adoption. Their Mother lives in Florida and their father must have supervised visits. ( He has since died of alcohol related diseases.) We, Jill and Paul, have adopted her. She is fitting into our family as she has not fit any where before. Jessie is a talented musician both vocally and with wind instruments. She is also a fledgling gymnast.
• Hanna, who is 15 years old, does not know who her father is, and has a cocaine addict for a mother. She was taken from a good foster home, after living there for three years, and was sent to an aunt she did not know. That lasted for six months, which caused her to go into a deep depression, sending her to the hospital. She was doing well in the hospital when they reintroduced her to her mother who had given up custody years ago. Her mother stole her from the hospital for ten days in which time Hanna tried to poison her mother. She has now been in the hospital for one year and wants a normal home very badly .
• Sparkle's mother died when she was 12 and is now 17. She was shipped from relative to relative. Several beat her in unmentionable ways and places. Her aunt went to jail for her last beating. Her aunt's husband goes to Chicago several times a week to procure drugs to sell in the suburbs. Sparkle has had several friends shot in "drive- bys". She has been in a gang and has been raped. In her formative years she resided close to Garfield Park on the west side. She and Sonia lived within six blocks of each other in the city, but did not know each other. She is heavier than Krista.
• Conchita is 14 years old and is in junior high. She is from Mexico and lived with her single mother who has trouble controlling her family. They had a fight over a boy in the house. Conchita ran away and when she tried to come back her mom refused to take her home. Her sister, 15, ran away, got pregnant and now lives in another state. Her mother is afraid it will be repeated and feels she can't control her. Conchita loves the gang-bangers and wants experience with boys.
• Suzanna, 16 years old but is the age equivalent of six or seven, is a special needs child who was taken from her mom because of neglect. She has now been pulled from a pre-adoptive foster home without notice. Some test showed some problems with the foster Dad. She misses them and is confused. She has nothing in common with teens her own age. She is in puberty, but is not aware of her body functions. She is now sharing a room with our nine year old daughter who she emulates more closely. Some days she can tie her shoes and some days she can't, along with not being able to pour milk because of shaking. Because of these examples, you can see how low-level functioning she is.
• Mandy is 16 years old. Her Dad abandoned the family when she was ten. Mom divorced her Dad and Mandy got a new stepfather. Mom had trouble with both daughters and the oldest left. Violence and anger are part of the family style. The teens beat mom and mom beats the teens. Mandy starts a pattern of stealing and acting out to scream for help. When she refuses discipline, Mom abandons her and says, "I don’t ever want to talk to you ever again!". This girl is a star basketball player, and her grades are coming back up to above-average after having dipped to failing.

Please pray for them and our needs or if you wish, you can donate to help us continue "opening doors" for these Teens.

Thank you, and may our Lord richly bless you this day.

In Christ's Service for the Community,

Paul & Jill Keenon
Open Door for Teens, Inc.