An Inspiration to Orangewood Youth : Former Shelter Resident Shows Others That They Too Can Turn Their Lives Around

Given the turbulence of his childhood, no one could blame Michael McKenzie for turning his back on his past. Instead, he revisits it continuously, trying to show those unfortunate enough to follow in his footsteps that there is a way out.

McKenzie is 22 years old now, a college student whose easy smile is a sharp contrast with the dour visage of his depressed youth. His father left the family when McKenzie was an infant, and his mother was an alcoholic. When things got real bad at home, the police would be called and would take him to the Orangewood Children’s Home, the county-run home in Orange for troubled and abused youth. He was there five times, missing long stretches of school and shuttling between foster homes. When he lived with his mother, it was in poverty, often in rundown motels and sometimes in warehouses.

McKenzie was 15 when his mother died. A San Clemente stockbroker became a foster father to McKenzie, got him professional help, and stood by the youth even after he dropped out of school and sank into depression. It paid off.

The teen-ager managed to turn his life around, and two years ago he returned to Orangewood and helped create a peer-counseling program. Orangewood counselors said the program has succeeded in answering residents’ questions about drugs, suicide, pregnancy and similar topics. McKenzie and 17 other former Orangewood residents, all trained for the program, show up every two weeks to offer their special brand of assistance. They also offer themselves as examples that there can be success after Orangewood.

McKenzie and his fellow counselors provide a good example of giving something back to their community. His foster father, Peter McKenzie, also was a role model and an inspiration to McKenzie. Society would benefit from many more like them.

Orangewood counselors said they took a special delight in McKenzie’s success because they see so many youths who are unable to turn their lives around when they leave the home. Those who work with abused children have tough jobs; they deserve all the successes they achieve.