6th of June 2019

By Ramon Gutierrez

Back in 1999, I was a resident at Trinity Yucaipa. I just wanted to say thank you. I grew up with an extremely hard life. I was a delinquent. I was always in trouble. I was prison bound. I had no family on my side; I had no one in my corner. My own mother did horrible things to me. I really had no one. I was roaming the streets; I was easily influenced by others. I was broken. I thrived on doing bad things and breaking the law. And my family had completely given up on me. My mother abandoned me. I lived with my aunt and uncle. And they gave up on me. They even told the courts that they wanted nothing to do with me. And I used that as an excuse to mess-up.

I went to juvenile hall, where I was incarcerated for five months and then I got interviewed by Trinity Yucaipa. It took a while, but with the help of the staff that really showed interest in me, it turned my whole life around. They really showed me that I could do something with my life. Whenever I would mess-up, they would show me the correct way of doing things. The teachers really showed me I can do this. And showed me I was just really being lazy.

I enjoyed going to school. I earned a letterman jacket that was one of the best feelings I ever had. While there were kids who took things for granted, I really enjoyed going to school. I maintained a job in the Trinity dining hall throughout my stay there. What I’m really trying to say is I learned skills there that really changed my life and helped me do a 180 turnaround with my life for the better. All because of the help and love and support I received at Trinity Yucaipa. Especially I want to thank Gil (Director of Residential Services), he really inspired me and helped me through a lot of tough times in my life.

However, my journey wasn’t over. I then went to another group home. I maintained a job at McDonald’s for three years and I graduated high school with a 3.75 GPA. I went to Colorado University where I graduated and received my bachelor’s degree in business management.

Now I live in Midland, TX and have a wife, a 13-year-old daughter and a 4-year-old son. I am a dispatch supervisor for one of the biggest oil companies in the country. Not a day goes by that I don’t remember where I came from, and that Trinity Yucaipa was a big part of my life. Thank you for all that you guys have done for me.

Click here to learn more about Trinity’s Short-Term Residential Therapeutic Programs.