ABSTRACT
There is a saying that the best thing you can give a child is roots and wings: roots so that they have a story, a place, important people, and a safe haven; wings so that at some point in their lives they have the courage to spread them and fly away. The stories of adults whose lives have been affected by crime from an early age are the stories of people who didn't get a solid foothold when they were growing up or a strong enough incentive to follow their dreams.
