March 28, 2011

Dear Governor Brewer, My name is Kayla Peacock, and I am a 23 year old wife and mother from Dillon, MT. I was in the Hope4Teens program in Phoenix, AZ in 2005, and when I entered I was a hopeless drug addict with no future. In trouble with the law, I was destined to either spend my life in and out of jail or living on the streets doing drugs. I spent time in and out of mental institutions, being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and paranoid schizophrenia, I was told I was not ever going to be mentally capable to function in society. I was a high school dropout and really had a zero chance for a successful future. I was miserable with my life and prior to entering Hope 4 Teens, I attempted suicide. What I can tell you now, 6 years later, is that Bobby and Ceci Torres and their ministries saved my life. While in the program, I was completely set free from drug addiction, I finished High School and received my diploma, and I was given a shot to turn my life around. I was taken off my psychotropic medication and I happily function without it. Bobby and Ceci showed me what a family was for the first time in my life, and I love them dearly. I lived in Arizona for 5 years, and even after I graduated from the program, I literally saw hundreds of lives changed. Whole families have been restored, and lives have been touched because of the love and sacrifice of the Torres family. Some of my best friends to this day are young adults that I was in treatment with, and although my husband and I are no longer directly affiliated with their ministry as we have moved back to my hometown in Montana, we still think of them as our family. We are still benefiting from the life lessons we have learned as a result from being in the treatment program. We now have a 2 year old son, and I can tell you that Bobby Torres has the most effective methods on parenting there is. His teachings and lessons are unmatched by any other expert on parenting out there, and you will find proof of that in the thousands of lives changed. Governor, Mr. and Mrs. Torres are NOT criminals. It is absolutely imperative that their programs remain in operation. I can't imagine where I'd be or where my husband and close friends would be if it weren't for these loving and caring people. With teenage pregnancies, high school dropouts, teen violence, bullying, teen suicide, and teen drug abuse is at an all time high, Hope4Teens is a solution for American families. To shut them down would be doing a great disservice to not only the state of Arizona, but to our nation.

Sincerely, Kayla Peacock