Joseph was only 13 when he mustered up the courage to flee from the shed he had been forced to live in for 3 months. You see, he wasn’t worthy to be part of the family. He was considered rebellious for talking to apostates (those that were part of the religion but chose to leave). Joseph was brought one meal a day and had no running water. It became lonely and hopeless.
One day he had finally had enough. He found a ride to Salt Lake where he reached out to Holding Out HELP. He was placed in a host home and school. It was tough as he only had a 3rd grade education level and struggled socially. With the encouragement of his case manager and host family, he fought to get educated. Within a year, he caught up to his grade level and carries over a 3.0 GPA! He joined the soccer team and began navigating healthy friendships. He continues to thrive in High School and has hope for the future!
The name in this story has been changed to protect the rights of our client.
