John was first introduced to foster care at nine years old.

The police came for him after a neighbor called about hearing his mother screaming at him and the child begging for help. John spent most of his nine years afraid of the severe beatings his mother would inflict upon him.

Foster care didn't prove much better.

He was a quiet child but prone to sudden outbursts of anger when faced with a new situation or one he didn't understand. And he didn't understand a lot.

John went through about a dozen foster homes until he finally ended up back in the Children's Shelter at 16. He was sexually assaulted by one of the older kids there and ran away to avoid more encounters. He lived many months on the streets going from one odd job to another, sometimes dealing drugs or stealing to survive.

He said he met an older couple in the park one day who coaxed his story out of him. After a few visits they invited him to live with them. Then they encouraged him to pursue a GED and later go to college. They even helped him find scholarships and loans to put him through school.

John admits that if it had not been for that one couple who offered him a safe home and encouraged and loved him unconditionally, he would have been among the one in five foster kids who emancipate and end up in prison.

He still considers this elderly couple his family. He said that at that time in his life, they were the only people who ever told him they loved him - the only ones who ever let him know they believed in him.

Today, John is a mentor to young men and is a respected executive in the financial community.

He beat the odds.