A mother told her daughter never to come home, banishing her from the household. This might sound like a harsh request and something that many mothers wouldn’t do, but there is a good reason for her statement. Lyric Esparza is a girl who didn’t get to do many of the things that children her age got to do, such as play in a park or go eat at a fun restaurant.
She tried to have fun with friends at Chuck E. Cheese one day, but it led to one of the most hurtful times of her life. Her family lived in housing supplied by Section 8 for as long as she could remember. Her parents were addicted to drugs, and they were fighting almost all the time while she was younger. She was abused, and her parents did very little to try to stop the harm that she was facing. Lyric eventually ended up in Eastside Academy.
She started talking to some of the teachers there as well as the pastor at the school. Lyric gave her life to God, but it seemed that she did it not of her own choice. Her mother found out, and she was angry that Lyric would turn her life to God. The mother told her daughter to simply go live with the pastor and his wife. Lyric decided that it might be the best option. She found herself sitting in the cold on a bench waiting for the bus one day.
She was able to stay with a woman who worked at the center before getting a few things accomplished in life. The pastor and his wife did allow Lyric to live with them, and they treated her like a daughter instead of a troubled teen.