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Andrew
Moore, 21, was born in Gainesville, Fla. He has
lived at Leaphart Place since Sept. 3, 2008.
“I get to come home and relax and let everything
that’s been stressing me out just go away,” he
says. “It’s like a little safe haven I can go
to.”
Decorations on Andrew’s walls include a list of
rules for guests: first and foremost, no
smoking. He also has a small memorial for his
grandmother, Geraldine Janet Peacock, who passed
away in 2006. As you can read from Andrew’s
poem, her greatest wish was for her family to be
closer.
But for Andrew, his family can be a source of
stress. He has been diagnosed with bipolar
disorder and has lived in community homes.
“With people that have some kind of bad life
experience, a lot of times, we’re misunderstood.
… People think we’re bad people. … I feel that
if you can go through a bad life experience and
come out of it and be successful for yourself,
there’s something good about you.”
Andrew attends Midlands Technical College in
Columbia and wants to earn a degree in human
services so he can help people in similar
situations.
“I guess
Leaphart Place is all about teaching young
adults responsibility and how to survive,
because a lot of us haven’t been taught that.”
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