From the streets to the halls of justice: Former foster child, teen mom overcomes adversity to graduate from UBC law school

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Former foster child, teen mom overcomes adversity to graduate from UBC law school

Dawn Johnson watches her recreational baseball team the Longhouse Lighting with her children Ryley, back left, Sky, second from left, and Emma in Vancouver, B.C., May 12.When Dawn Johnson came to, she was sprawled on the kitchen floor. Her blood was everywhere. She could hear the father of her infant daughter pacing in the next room. She had just turned 16. He was decades older. He’d tried to kill her, beating, then strangling her. She had no idea how long she’d been out. She couldn’t move.

At no point, has she accepted welfare, she says: she wanted something “more” for her daughters. Her extraordinary work in child welfare led to an Alberta Centennial Medal in 2005, then to law school at UBC. Dawn Johnson walks off the field with her baseball team the Longhouse Lighting and is greeted by her daughter Sky, in Vancouver, B.C., May 12.People recognized a spark in Ms. Johnson from a young age. She was invited to the academic challenge program at school, and ran laps in the hallways in the early morning to stay fit. Life at home was a lot more complicated.

Suddenly, Ms. Johnson felt absolutely alone. On the streets of Edmonton, she found a sense of belonging, community and identity. There, she was surrounded by kids who were traumatized and hurt, just like her. They tried, as best they could, to look out for one another. But predators were everywhere, and Johnson was repeatedly exploited and victimized, adding new layers of trauma atop old wounds. To numb her pain, she began using drugs.

 

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