Busted For Pellet Gun Shooting- Days later, Jesse and a friend are arrested in a pellet gun shooting incident and held at Theo Lacy Jail in Orange. The jail is just yards from Orangewood Children's Home, his first stop in the foster care system nine…
Hung Over- He finally lands a job at Edwards Theater. Arriving to work in a wrinkled shirt and exhausted from partying the night before, he starts his 11am shift with a yawn. 'Well, I have a plan for my future, I don't want to work at Edwards all…
Unemployed & On Probation-After being kicked out of his apartment during day time hours to look for a job, Jesse hangs out with girlfriend, Rebecca, at the end of his street. He was given a two week warning to find a job or lose his transitional…
Strung Out-Unemployed and flat broke, Jesse spends nights partying and days sleeping. By August, he's given a two week warning from staff at Rising Tide to get a job or pack his bags.
Emancipation-Jesse recently emancipated from the foster care system moves in to his new apartment made possible through Rising Tide, a transitional housing program with subsidized rent, run by Orangewood Children's Foundation, a private offshoot of…
I'm A Loser-Jesse Equihua, trapped inside the foster care system since he was nine years old, recently aged out. 'I had this little voice in my head right there that sys you got to make the biggest leap from childhood to adolescence to adulthood.…
Pregnant-Sam touches his wife's stomach in hopes of feeling the baby's movement. Still homeless and living at the Salvation Army shelter in Santa Ana, they're hoping for county assistance so they can have their own place.
Destitute and Pregnant- Still homeless, drifting from place to place, Janea waits at a bus stop. 'Well, so far this last year I graduated. I've slept in a park. I've been in tons of different shelters. I've been abused. I've been the abuser. I'm…
Thanksgiving Dinner- By November, being homeless has become a comfortable routine for Janea and Sam. Boredom is their newest enemy. While the rest of the country is feasting on turkey, Thanksgiving Day, Sam downs a bottle of Cheese Whiz.
Homeless Shelter- Unlike most shelters, Janea can stay there as long as she likes at First Baptist Church. There is room on the floor to sleep and donated food to eat.