A Home for the Holidays : Abandoned Teen Taken In by Estancia High Awaits a New Family

On Thanksgiving Day, Chris Linden helped serve food to some of the city’s homeless at the Orange Coast Interfaith Shelter. Less than a month ago, the 14-year-old could have been one of those being fed.

A freshman at Estancia High School, Chris lived in a shelter, a series of motels, his mother’s van and, finally, on the streets for nearly five months until other students, hearing of his plight, rallied to help him.

His story touched the hearts of teachers, counselors, residents and local officials, who responded with offers of housing, clothing, food and, just as important, encouragement and support.

“This has really unified the school,” said counselor Carolyn Crockett, who let Chris stay at her home for a few days. “It gave them a chance to experience what it feels like to do something good for someone else.”

Chris and his mother came to Orange County in July from Independence, a small farming town in Northern California, after she split up with his stepfather.

They first went to the Interfaith Shelter in Costa Mesa, which offers a 60-day training and job placement program to help people in transition get back on their feet. But his mother did not find work, and when the program ended, the two were on the streets.

Chris enrolled at Estancia, went to classes and tried to keep up, doing his homework wherever he happened to be for the night: sometimes in a motel room, more often in his mom’s ’84 Chevy van. He still managed to get A’s and Bs.

In October, his mother could no longer care for him. Crockett let Chris stay at her home until a Superior Court judge put him under the care of the county. While he was at the county’s Orangewood Children’s Home, a shelter for abused and neglected children, his mother disappeared.

Meanwhile, Estancia juniors Melissa Inouye and Chris Johnson, reporters for the high school newspaper, El Aguila , learned of his situation and wrote about it. When their story appeared, the community’s response was quick and generous.

A resident sent $500 to the school to help buy Chris food and clothing. Students put up posters to let the community know about his crisis. A school secretary bought him an entire wardrobe.

“We gave a little push, and the ball started rolling,” said Chris Johnson, 16.

When Chris Linden returned to school after two weeks at Orangewood, students turned out in force to welcome him back. The 100-member marching band greeted him with music and cheers, and other students, teachers and staff members applauded as he walked through the school’s gates, tears of gratitude on his cheeks.

Melissa, 16, explained the response this way: “When you see someone that wants to live the American Dream and wasn’t given a fair shot, it’s great to be able to help.”

With Crockett’s guidance, students collected nearly 300 student and parent signatures on a petition urging county social service agencies to expedite Chris’ case so that he can go to a permanent foster home quickly, rather than endure the typical months-long delay.

County Supervisor William G. Steiner, hearing the story, instructed his staff to make sure the petition papers were properly filed.

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As a result, hearings on Chris’ case will be this week, Crockett said, which means that Chris could be in a permanent foster home before Christmas.

Chris, who is now with a foster family temporarily, said: “I feel like I owe my life to this community.”

Even before coming to Orange County, he said, he had little stability in his life, moving six times in three years. His situation was so unstable, he said, that he kept his belongings in bags by his bed and always slept with his clothes on. He sometimes thought about suicide.

This fall, he said, as his situation grew worse, he focused on surviving from day to day. But when he was homeless, he said, even that was impossible. “I was living minute to minute, second to second,” he said. “I was constantly worried.”

Chris, who speaks carefully and articulately, compared his situation to falling down a steep slope. “You reach out and grab a branch, and you’re happy for a little while,” he said. “Then the branch breaks, and you continue to fall.”

With help from the Estancia community, he said, he can finally envision being on solid ground. Prospects are good for quick placement in a foster home, and the county social service agency has located Chris’ father, whom he has not seen in five years. Going to live with him in Northern California is a possibility.

With his life more stable, Chris said, he can think about his future--perhaps going to UCLA to prepare for a career in computer programming. And he will do whatever he can to return some of the kindness that was poured out to him.

That’s why he was at Interfaith Shelter Thursday serving Thanksgiving dinners.

“I don’t think I can pay everyone back for what they’ve done for me,” he said. “But if anybody needs help, I will help.”