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.”