Our former residents hold strong memories of the time they lived
at Children’s Receiving Home and their stories are inspirational
to both current residents, staff and our community partners.
I am writing you this letter to thank you for helping me in a
time of my life that I needed it the most.
I had come to the Children’s Receiving Home with my
brother and sister. You gave us a place to feel safe at, and
feel like we could talk about everything that was going on.
The people that worked in the room that I was in were amazing.
They made me feel like it wasn’t all my fault, and that there was
light at the end of the tunnel.
I am Christine Briceno and I am an alumnus of Children’s
Receiving Home of Sacramento. I am a mom, active in my community,
and have had a nearly 20 year career with the State of
California. Recently I accepted a CEA position as a Director at
the California State Teachers Retirement System. I was humbled
and so grateful for this opportunity that I began to reflect on
the journey that had brought me here.
It was a beautiful June day in 1974. I was 12 years old, and I
still remember it so clearly. Having just graduated from the
sixth grade, my friends and I were busy planning our summer
vacation and preparing to enter Junior High. There was much to
anticipate, a new school, new teachers and new friends. Then
suddenly, my world was turned upside down. My life was forever
changed the day my 15 year old sister Gale finally had enough and
decided to turn my parents in for physical child abuse.
Hi, my name is Jennifer Green. I was a resident of the Sacramento
Children’s Receiving Home from 1985 -1986. I didn’t know it at
the time, but this was a pivotal changing point in my life. My
story begins at the age of five. My father was an alcoholic, and
while he was drunk, he would use me as a punching bag, while my
mother stood by and did nothing. The abuse started as physical
beatings, and eventually became emotional and mental as I grew
older. I lived in constant fear and was in survival mode all of
the time.
Imagine being 14 years old and realizing that you have nowhere to
live and you have no family that wants you. That’s where I found
myself when I was taken to the Children’s Receiving Home.
