Isabelle Noguiera

Out of Tragedy Comes Hope (Twinkle's Story told by the boy)

“[LSD, a miracle worker, an escape, a drug.] It was what I had to fall back on when everything else was pulled away, like a carpet from under me. A drug that once saved my life, has now taken away from me everything I had and loved. In the beginning the choice was mine, I did it to relieve my pain. I did it so I didn’t to have to face all the problems that were constantly surrounding me. But after the addiction kicked in, I felt as if I had a physical and emotional need for it. Of course, for a while it all worked out. I took the money from those old bags. They had more than they needed. It was an innocent thing, really. I never meant to harm anyone, especially not take away anyone’s life.

Then this one day I saw some grandma, as sick as it sounds, she was the perfect target—defenseless. I jumped out the car and whipped out my blade screaming, “And this is for some hero.” It was a line from the movies. As soon as my bare feet hit the pavement, I went for the lady’s purse, throwing her to the ground. As I looked back, I saw three men jump out of a car and a woman stay in. I worried she would call the police. One of them started sprinting towards me and in an act of desperation I ran to a corner street, not realizing it was a dead end. All that was going through my head was that they would make me go back home. The only thing that could protect me was my knife. But how wrong was I? The knife, which on that night, I thought was my only defense was the weapon that took away an innocent man’s life and ruined my own.”

Kurt

That evening a beautiful life was lost, but new hope for change was born. The woman in the car, who on that night lost her husband, did not hold a grudge against the boy. She knew that the community had abandoned this child. He was not given the help he needed during the most crucial of times. So she, Twinkle Rudberg, developed a program called LOVE. This program is for teenagers to fall back on when they have no one else. Now LOVE is helping teens across Canada and the states make better choices and live without violence.

MORE