My parents were hippies and moved to Western North
Carolina to start a commune. We lived in a cabin without
electricity for five years. My family was poor and there was
a lot of dysfunction. My mother would take off for weeks
or months at a time and I, as the oldest girl, had to take
care of my five siblings. By 13 my mom was gone for good.
I was raising my brothers and sisters while my father
worked 60-70 hours a week. My father had a long fuse, but
when he reached the end of it he could be brutal.
I got pregnant when I was 14 and during one violent
episode, my father slapped me so hard I could feel the
bones in my spine pop. I was afraid for the baby and me,
and a guidance counselor and favorite teacher told me
about Florence Crittenton Services in Charlotte. I told my
dad I was leaving and would not be back. I released the
baby for adoption to my aunt and returned to Crittenton
to live in an apartment for girls who had released for
adoption. I stayed in a foster home, lived with a boyfriend
and in a boarding house and then wherever I could lay my
head. Even though my living situation was unstable,
I played on the basketball team, was senior class president
and attended prom. UNC-Charlotte was the only college I applied to and
I was accepted. I became pregnant and had three
sons while in undergrad. When I finally graduated
my sons were five, three and 10 months old.
After college I worked in a law firm, having told
my father at age four that I wanted to be a lawyer.
When my youngest was six I began law school here
in Charlotte, working, raising my sons and going to
law school at night. I will graduate from law school
almost 10 years to the day I graduated from UNCC.
My future is wide open.
Throughout the 20 years I have been in Charlotte,
Florence Crittenton has played an integral role in
my life. The support I have received and continue
to receive has been considerable and on-going.
Florence Crittenton has become a family to me, and
I know that when I graduate next May, I will see the
usual faces in the crowd supporting me.”
—Katie Becker
FCS advocate and volunteer
January 15, 2013
