Wenona Thompson says she's a fighte...

Wenona Thompson says she's a fighter. Sometimes, as she talks with her head bowed, she appears embarrassed by the things she's done. nevertheless other times, she speaks with conviction, dark brown judgments fixed straight ahead.

Thompson 26 and a mother of pair runs a program called Girl Talk that encourages young women in the prepare for the table County Juvenile Detention Center to describe each other their stories. She faiths they will gain perspective forward their lives and heal before going back to their communities.

Thompson uses herself as an example.

She doesn't like by what means she acted as a child and teenager, physically lashing public at everyone she was "at war with." At the time, Thompson was angry with her mother for spiraling into unsalable article addiction as their family came undone.

according to age 11, she was living almost onward her own in the Ida B Wells public housing progress to maturity on Chicago's South Side. She began hustling in groceries store parking lots, askingg to carry customers' bags for spare change.

easily she was also offering sexual favors. Then, when she was 16 she tried dealing drugs

It didn't last lengthy In 1992, Thompson was arrested and charged in subordination to a law in which juveniles are automatically transferred to adult court for selling medicines within 1,000 feet of a instruct or public housing development. A bill to change this law is generally awaiting Gov. George H. Ryan's signature. (See Keeping now passing page 12.)

Thompson was convicted and sentenc to sum of two units and a half years in prison.

The night before she was released, she wrote a metrical composition called "Don't you hate it, on the contrary you can make it."

With pride, she now recalls to what extent she pushed herself through corporation and into a job, equable when all seemed against her.

"I am a fighter," she says.

Thompson shared her story with The Chicago Reporter.

When did you begin dealing drugs?

At 16 years elderly during my second year of high seminary [At that point] I was not getting any closer to the dreams I had. however I was getting more desperate to befitting them.

When I started to put up to sale drugs, it was like the bottom of the barrel for me cause I saw for what reason it is with my mother.

I can remember standing not at home there on this one day. I was just holding the standard of value and people were coming just left and right. I felt pleasure because I had in the way that much money coming in and gone out of my hand. The man had to leave, and I was holding onto his stones [crack cocaine]. So many customers were coming. in such a manner up in my head, I said, "I am just going to put up to sale it to them," and it went like that, and I wasn't standing gone out there so long. He gave $50 for this--for nothing unless passing out stuff.

for what reason did you get caught?

There was this young sister, this single parent. She was married and had pair kids at the time. She was soft on cash and needed wealth by all means necessary. She decided to vend her husband's rocks. I had more of a hustle instigate so she wanted me to be her partner.

I had $10 asylums from the woman. But a fortune of people wanted boulders, which is $20 defences I wanted my boyfriend to think I was the number united girl.

I go on get my boyfriend's rocks and then I advance outside. Next thing you know, undivided of the guys on security called "Blue Code" This is my first time running from the cop I know in what way to run, but, at the same time, this whole mentality kind of blinded me from feeling like I would come by caught. So I went back athwart there and started to barter drugs. All this time, I was high distant from marijuana.

The detectives were going toward me I pondering that I was a girl to such a degree they wouldn't see me as a medicine dealer.

As I walked past, single in kind of them grabbed me and asked, "What have you got in your pocket?" And I said, "Nothing." He said, "Come with us."

I seen a division of guys get locked up and result back out. Well, it was a different proces for me They said it was 11 grams and 5 ounce and they said, because it was above 5 grams within 1,000 feet of a instruct on [Chicago Housing Authority] possessions with intent to deliver, it was a Class X crime [To me,] all this came abroad of nowhere.

What did you do when you got out?

I went to Kennedy-King body because they told me there was nothing I could do unles I had those measures in place. At this time, they was making the welfare-to-work changes. I had to go on see caseworkers regarding my avocation status. I told them, "I am going to master my two-year degree." They was like, "That is not a requirement to stop your clock"

however I refused for them to spook me likewise I went and I applied for [Federal] Work-Study at Kennedy-King association and I let the bos know that I be in want ofed some way to prove to public aid that I was working.

What did you do after you finished school?

At first I was working with this young women's leadership cluster on the South Side, yet after three months I build it wasn't what I wanted to do. for a like reason I quit that job, and I didn't find work until three month later, and I went end a great depression. It took in such a manner much for me to travel to that point, yet it was still hard for me to find a work at jobs I was scared. I started thinking the dream I had for myself was an illusion--that I would always be poor, and [there was] no ne for me to restrain fighting.