Car for Kids in Massachusetts

“I was 12-years-old when I had a knife put to my throat because I didn’t want to do things my boyfriend wanted me to do.

For years I was mentally and physically abused by him, I thought this was okay, this is what a normal relationship is like. I thought it was a healthy relationship, but reality isn’t always as good as it looks.”

Unfortunately, Janae’s discrepancies on the definition of healthy relationships stemmed from the home she grew up in.

“We live in a 2 bedroom apartment. I share a room with my sister and my other sister shares a room with my mom. At my house it’s nothing, but negativity all the way around. My family, there’s no support there. It’s dead, it’s a desert every day. There is no ‘how was your day or what did you learn today. There’s nothing. It’s just earphones in. You mind your business, go to sleep, and close the door, that’s it. It’s not a real family.”

Longing for the love and support she never knew, she became lost and confused.

“I dropped out of school. I ran away, I did drugs, and began to steal. I did that for 3 years, until one day I realized I needed to grow up the right way, not like my family. I have worked 3 jobs before and dealt with school. So it’s hard for me to sit there and study while being around people who don’t want to do anything with their life. It’s like how do you focus or concentrate when you’re in that type of environment? Even with your parents, they don’t want to see you grow because you’re growing faster than they ever have. Growing up my mom would always leave us with my grandmother. She was never there for me. She would even fight my daddy for never being there when she was never there either.”

Finally, after Janae realized her family would never change, she decided to embark on a new journey. She wanted to make something of her life, but she couldn’t return to her old school because she had lost all her credits.

Texans Can Academies became her second chance at life.

“People would say it’s for bad people, they steal, and smoke weed, but I learned so fast how wrong they are. From the second I walked in here, my advisors always looked after me. You always have people that care about you and want to see you grow. I never had anything like it in my old school or at home. Not one counselor tried to talk to me at my old school. I actually didn’t know who she was. Here it’s so different. I have multiple people. It’s just ears all wanting to listen and are always eager to see you grow. That’s exactly what happened. My whole mindset has grown. My mom would always say no one wants someone as dumb as a door knob. It was because I’m a little slower at catching on to things, but I never let it stop me. I keep asking questions until I learn it. Learning actually became so much easier with Marquez Reading [an innovative curriculum created by Richard Marquez, Texans Can President / CEO]. It was like I didn’t really know how to read before this school. It helps me so much. Even when I’m nervous and scared I’ll mess up on a word, I know how to figure it out now. Also, here you don’t have kids laughing at you when you mess up, they try to help you, unlike a regular school. At Texans Can we never tear each other down, we’re always here to help.”

As Janae continued to progress and soar through Texans Can, Miss Michelli, the assistant principal, told her about the Certified Nursing Assistant Program offered at the school.

“I was so nervous I wouldn’t get accepted, but I knew this was for me. When they first pulled me out of class to tell me I cried, I couldn’t stop crying. It was the first time I felt like I did something right. Then, my mom finally started to see the change in me and how much happier I am, but she continues to bring up my past as I’m trying to grow. So one day, this lady from church took me into her family to give me another outlet, so I wouldn’t be stuck in a negative space. She asks how I’m doing and even offers to pick me up, so I can get out of there. But I know I’m doing right, whether she likes it or not. Now I believe this isn’t my stopping point, it’s only the beginning. I tell my friends who sound like they want to come here it’s a great school. Although it’s only four hours, you do a lot of work. It’s hard, but we can do it. The teachers never let you down. Believe me when I say, no one at Texans Can will ever let you down. Some kids have kids and that’s okay. The staff here keeps motivating you no matter the situation. I can promise you it’s nothing like any other school. Friends and sometimes even family can only take you so far. If it’s nothing but negativity after that, where are you going? You just have to be willing to try new things, meet new people, the right people that will help you get somewhere in life like everyone here at Texans Can.”

La’Phadra moved to Houston in October from Tulsa, Oklahoma. She was behind in school because her family moved around alot. She said she attended a lot of different schools and didn’t learn as much as she should have. 

Houston Can! is a lot different than her very large school in Tulsa. She has really liked the small classes and one-on-one relationships with the teachers and advisors. She is also glad to not be in a school where there were fights and arguments among the students. She said she never sees that at Houston Can! 

She is the oldest sibling and has six sisters and one brother. One of her sisters is enrolled at Houston Can! as well. La’Phadra graduated in June and said it is a big help that the Can! helped her catch up so quickly with her class credits and graduate on time. She can help her mother with her brother and sisters. 

La’Phadra wants to enroll at Houston Community College (HCC) and study to be a police officer but is also interested in forensic science. Her plan is to transfer to a four-year university after HCC. Her favorite class was world geography. 

La’Phadra got engaged at prom to her boyfriend who is also a student at Houston Can! Her boyfriend is enlisting in the service so they will be apart for several weeks when he leaves this summer for basic training. They both think it is a good idea to wait and get married after his basic training because they have never been apart and think they should see how this separation goes for each of them.

Alexis graduated in June. She is now enrolled in Medvance, a technical school, where she is studying medical office administration. She will begin classes July 6th and plans to complete her studies in eight months to one year. She wants to get a job, gain some experience and income, then go back to school to be certified as a radiology technician and work in one of Houston’s hospitals. 

Alexis has been enrolled in Houston Can! since the 10th grade. She was frustrated in her previous large public school because of the class sizes and interruptions. Other kids were “class clowns” and disruptive in the classroom and often prevented the teachers from teaching. She wanted to learn and felt like her time was being wasted by the other students and teachers. She would get mad and say things to the teachers about their lack of classroom control, which got her in trouble. She said she had a lot of attitude problems with the situation that she should have handled better. Her attendance began to suffer. She would do her work, turn it in and leave class. She would go to all three lunch periods and miss class. Her grades were good but her attendance was very bad and she didn’t receive credits for the classes. 

A friend told her about the Can! and she decided to enroll. She liked the way the class sizes were small, classes were concentrated to core subjects and were half days. She struggled with math concepts since elementary school but the teachers at the Can! simplified the information and made it easy for her to understand. She passed the math portion of the TAKS test the first time she took it at Houston Can! 

Alexis was able to graduate on schedule for her age in spite of the lost credits from her previous high school. Growing up was not easy for Alexis. She said she was “tugged and pulled” in several directions from a young age. She had lots of anger issues. Her Dad worked three jobs to support the family so was not around much for guidance and leadership while she was growing up. She met her mom when she was 16. She has had to work to help support herself since she was 16 and is “pretty much on her own now.”

Just two weeks after his nineteenth birthday, Gabriel Gutierrez had a tumor removed from his body.

When biopsy results came back, he was faced with a diagnosis of Stage 3 cancer, which had started to spread.

Doctors worked quickly to stop the spread to Gabriel’s brain. Now only a month after his birthday, he was in the ICU, receiving chemotherapy.

Since Gabriel started treatment, his mother, Patricia Solis, had to stop working. Bills, however, kept coming, and she turned to Texans Can Academies, where Gabriel was in his senior year. The school stepped in to help with food, utilities, and rental-assistance referrals. With these resources in place, Gabriel’s family could focus on what was most important: his recovery—and his future.

Over the next few months, Gabriel’s teachers called or texted to ask how he was. His family was assured that, while Gabriel was getting better, he could also still get his diploma. They were there to support him.

“The whole staff at Can is amazing at helping us,” Patricia said.

The family has known Texans Can for some time. Gabriel’s younger sister attends there also, and his older brother, now a student at St. Philip’s College, is a Texans Can graduate.

This May, the same will be true of Gabriel. Thanks to the support he and his family have received from Texans Can, Gabriel can look forward to a new part of his journey. His teachers say his courage has inspired them all.

“He wants to attend college and be a firefighter,” Patricia said.

Gabriel continues to battle his cancer, but his family is hopeful that chemotherapy will soon be behind him. He has much to look forward to.

AJ Clemons is an Austin Can! student who will walk across the stage at the upcoming June Graduation Ceremony. “I was an A-B honor roll student throughout elementary and middle school. When I started high school the word “school” was not in my vocabulary. I was skipping class and I got into everything but the books. After a while I began to see myself stuck in the same pattern. The very same people I went to middle school with were walking the stage and I was left behind. I had to think long and hard about what I was going to do with my life. That was when I was introduced to Austin Can! Academy, where second chances are given. Most people in my shoes would have given up and dropped out but here I stand getting my high school diploma at the age of 22. None of my sisters or brothers graduated from high school. I am grateful and very happy to be the first. See, I know now, that high school is where adulthood begins. Austin Can! is where I learned new things, met great people, and began my new life. Now, I’m ready for college and look forward to a career in music and business management.”