When Julie turned 14 she decided she couldn't take the beatings any more. "My mom would drink and get mad at the world. But instead of punching the world, she punched me." "I cried so many times and asked God to save me from the people who were supposed to protect me. I felt like I never got an answer. "I've been to lots of places - California, Colorado, Kansas City, Mexico, Arizona, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Atlanta. I've been running my whole life. "When I came to New York I was not looking for, or expecting help," she said. "And when I found Covenant House, I had no plans to stay. To me, trusting people only gave them room to hurt me. I've been broken down so low in life that I didn't know how I would ever get back up. "But what I learned from my family at Covenant House is that when you fall, you can get back up. Covenant House changed me. For the first time in my life, I had a safe bed, three meals a day, and people who stayed after work to talk to me. "I don't know how to explain it. I don't even know why it happened to me. For a long time I prayed for certain things in life and stopped believing in God because I didn't feel like God was listening to me. Now I feel like He listened to me. I've never been so happy."
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