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There's about a 10 minute video, but the summary is:
There's about a 10 minute video, but the summary is:
*sniff*Surviving Jimmy's Journey
Jimmy Graham battled horrific challenges growing up that no one should have to face, especially a child. Through it all, somehow, Jimmy never gave up. Now, for one specific reason, he's ready to talk about surviving Jimmy's Journey.
Jimmy Graham grew up in Goldsboro, North Carolina living with his mom and visiting his older sister in the orphanage where she lived.
Jimmy's sister lived in that home for five years. One Summer after Jimmy finished 6th grade, his mother told him to get in the car. Jimmy thought he was going to summer camp and fell asleep during the ride.
"I wake up in a group home. Next thing I know, my mom signs me away, drops my clothes off in trash bags and drives away," he says.
Jimmy's mom only wanted one child. His sister was coming home, so it was his turn to go.
"Is this happening to me? I was very scared and confused. I was 11 years old," said Graham.
Jimmy had never been in trouble, but the home was for juvenile delinquents age 13 and up; bigger, older boys who had committed crimes.
"Everyday was a fight...physical, mental. Literally I had to fight my way out of everyday," he recalls.
Jimmy was beaten on a regular basis. Multiple times he called his mother, begging to come home. After nine months, she gave in.
But he was on his own.
"I would just leave the house for weeks. I would go to a friend's house for a week or two. It really didn't matter," said Graham