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April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.
[link]

But every day is child abuse prevention day.

Last weekend, I moved out of my father's household and out on my own to support myself. I may be a bit young for it, and I may not be financially ready, but I'm bound to be happier. Much...happier.

They took my baby sister yesterday. Took her from the place that she used to call "home."
She's fifteen years old, and has been having a harder time with stability and a clean lifestyle since my mother's stroke in September of 2006.
We've never had the kind of life you would call "good for kids."
Everyone reacts differently to abuse, I suppose. I've seen people who end up like my sister, an addict, an alcoholic, and a juvenile delinquent. I've seen people who just get quiet... and keep to themselves. And I've seen people who would act no differently than someone who has never had a hand laid on them or been called a bad name by the people they would like to call family...

I worry, because I'm not sure when I'll get to see her again. I don't even know where she is.

This is Jessica... My sister. Born in Saint Mary Cowin hospital, Pueblo, Colorado to Sandra and Kirk just after 2am on December 24th, 1992, weighing just over 8 pounds.

I could hardly ever manage to snag a good picture of her, when she actually looked like my little sister. But here are a few.

[link]

This one was taken on her 15th birthday.
[link]