Prevention and Resilience: A Case Study

[MUSIC PLAYING]

LORNE WOOD: I'm nervous and excited. I think it's a big deal to go in front of this crowd of people and tell them the story of my life. Looking back on it, my life was a hell of a journey. So really quick, I got to look up on YouTube how to tie a tie because it's been too long. And I've kind of forgotten.

INSTRUCTOR (ON VIDEO): Generally, you want the wide end of the tie and twice as long—

LORNE WOOD: That didn't happen correctly.

INSTRUCTOR (ON VIDEO): —cover the narrow end. After you do this, you want to take the wide end of the tie and you want to take it—

LORNE WOOD: Yeah, this is not going to work. I've got to get my brother to show me how to do this. Hey, do you know how to tie a tie?

ANTHONY: It's the other way, right? Like that. You should have looked into it ahead of time, buddy.

LORNE WOOD: I should have. Let me check it out. Did I get it?

PRESENTER: Lorne Wood has described his parents as the Walter Whites of Long Beach. As a youngster, he was regularly in danger and was removed from his parents' home. This began a long and painful period in Lorne's life which was filled with fear, sadness, and loss. Then Lorne began to turn his life around. And it started at Star View. Our nominee selection committee decided to award our inspiration award to Lorne.

[APPLAUSE]

LORNE WOOD: So firstly, I'd like to say, it's a big honor to be here. It's been very built up. And you know, I'm very excited about it. So here is my story. It's called, "A Knock at the Door." I'm trying to think, sorry. Let me stop that. So I have a brother Anthony who is also kind of like my best friend. I love that.

ANTHONY: That was intentional.

LORNE WOOD (VOICEOVER): In our early days of foster care, we were together in our first group home. We had no clue how to react to losing our parents. Me and Anthony eventually got separated which for me was kind of—not kind of, it was like the hugest deal in the world. Our journeys kind of split off from there. And, yeah, sorry.

Eventually, my brother and I got separated. And this was when my true descent into depression began. I started isolating myself from the world and many times I even wanted to kill myself. The only thing that kept me somewhat functional was that my team, Coral, Kenny, Frank, Louis, came out to see me every week.

CORAL HUNTSMAN (VOICEOVER): One of the things that he struggled with is his mom. She would say she was coming over. And he would wrap his food up and save it for his mom. He'd wait for hours for her. And then, a lot of times, she just didn't come. She just didn't come over. His outlook on life was that he will be disappointed one way or another.

LORNE WOOD: Growing up in foster care was kind of dark. And you move around to all of these things placements and, you know, you meet these people, but you never really get to know them. You've got to kind of lifelessly go to children's court. And they, you know, kind of like, you lost your family, but here's a teddy bear. And Star View comes along and, you know, after that, it was it was completely different.

CORAL HUNTSMAN: We were there to help him work through some of the stuff that came out as we worked with him. Sometimes we would just walk around the mall. We'd go eat most of the time. And I think it was just such a relief for him. There was no pressure.

LORNE WOOD: I think the hardest part about it was that I was kind of just thrown into random places and kind of left to fend for myself. And luckily, after a few more years, you know, I just so happened, luck of the draw, to get placed right around the corner from where Anthony was living. We started hanging out again and ditching school at the library.

And we talked about that we would always try to stay in the same place. We're living together. And he's one of the most constant positive forces in my life. And he has been for a very long time.

Eventually, I met my English teacher who, in a crowd of English teachers, stands out. She was absolutely the coolest tattoo-clad educator I had ever met. She once said to me, "just because you had a crappy childhood, doesn't mean you have to have a crappy adulthood." And it honestly made me feel like perhaps I did have some power over what happened in my life. One day the topic of adoption came up. So I asked her hypothetically, if it would be ridiculous for her to adopt me?

FOSTER MOTHER: I think a part of me had said to myself, if I could take home any kid, it would be this kid. He just had so much potential and you could just tell he just wanted relationships and wanted to be heard and wanted to be a part of something and be recognized.

LORNE WOOD: Honestly speaking, you guys were the first adults who weren't getting paid to be there whose opinion I cherished a lot. I mean, that's the only reason I learned how to actually do homework. I remember when you sat there with, it was you and your mom, tried to teach me. Essentially, what it boiled down to was I was taking questions way too literally in my homework. So I wasn't get anything done.

ANTHONY: You tend to that with a lot of stuff.

FOSTER MOTHER: Yeah.

LORNE WOOD: Well, yeah, I do.

FOSTER MOTHER: Very analytical person.

LORNE WOOD: And yeah, well, because, you know, I had that like didactic kind of like tendency to like, you know, just—

FOSTER MOTHER: Use words like didactic?

LORNE WOOD: Like use words like didactic, yeah.

FOSTER MOTHER: At that point when I was looking at him, he was a child that had been so detached when I first met him. And then to just come out and ask me, "can I just come and live with you and your husband?" I was really touched. And I think I almost felt obligated, not in a negative sense, but, like, this is kind of he's our responsibility, you know? I owe him something. We owe him this chance.

LORNE WOOD: Yeah, so they all, they literally look exactly like the kids from Magic School Bus but grown up.

FOSTER MOTHER: Oh, yeah, you're not a picky eater.

CORAL HUNTSMAN: It's been a long road with Lorne. And I always picture that first day that I walked into the house and saw him sitting on the couch to now.

LORNE WOOD: I'm Lorne Wood. I'm the Peer Training Specialist for the Training Academy. I was a client here myself. Just speaking from a personal note, I'd get into group homes and I'd move away. And every home I was at, I was there for a shorter amount of time. And—

CORAL HUNTSMAN: I remember being in the car with him asking him, would you ever consider being a peer mentor? Would you ever want to do that? And so he ended up in that position. And then, when we had the opportunity in the training department, of course, I'm like, do you want to do this? Because you'd be so good at it. And he jumped at it. And so here we are now.

LORNE WOOD: I hope we never forget the stories of the youth we've worked with. I hope we never forget their faces or their names or their ability to persevere. I hope we never lose sight of the vision of them growing up and having that understanding to help people who need it. And I hope we never overlook their strengths. I hope we never forget their dreams.

[APPLAUSE]

LORNE WOOD (VOICEOVER): More than anything, what has made the hugest difference is the people who I've known. I'm just really grateful to have them here and to have them with me over the years. When I think of my childhood, being separated from everybody I had known, I just thought I was just going to stay there for a really long time. When I think of my life now, I feel like I have options in the world. Most of my life goes to being able to try things I feel like I missed out on and live life the way I want to live it in the way that makes me happy.