Shania’s father left long ago. Her mother could not, would not give up drugs and alcohol. Shania lived as a ward of the state most of her life and finally moved into her aunt’s house at age 15. But Shania, having known nothing but rejection and trying to reconcile her anger and love of her mother, treated her aunt badly. Shania was failing classes in school and on a downhill path toward her own destruction.

Shania was referred to Kaleidoscope in the summer of 2008 as an at-risk teenage f...