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What made you wanna come to San Francisco?
[crying] I'm sorry.
So, how long have you been--
Oh, my God. I don't--
I no have idea.
I'm sorry. I did t want to make you cry.
I do not wanna see you cry, sorr.
I moved to America from Puerto Rico,
because I have one kid.
And, when I have that baby in my hands,
I start realize,
I have to do something fast.
I moved to America
with no money.
Yeah.
And, I was in an abusive relationship.
Did it ever get physical?
Every day.
When she opened up completely with me,
there was probably points and times
where I could have cried.
And I just tried to go ahead and hold myself,
because I didn't want to go ahead
and seem weak around her.
[chuckles]
Sorry for making you cry so much.
No, it's okay.
I'm-- I'm alive.
You could tell me.
You're gonna be a great mother.
I can believe that. I can see it in your eyes.
You love your kid. That's the only tg that matters.
Yeah. Yeah.
This is a person who really--
Who's gone through so much as a woman, herself.
But outside of that, her number one thing--
You can look in her eyes. You can see her emotions.
You can see her talk.
What-- What shoots out the most
is the fact that she wants to be a great mother.
And, you know, that meant a lot to me.
Because, you know, I do have a sister who's a single mother.
I'm gonna take my son, and gonna move out.
I had a great experience at the Raphael house.
I met so many great people
and I wanted to know a little bit more about this place.
Oh, good, good.
So, I'm gonna go back
and spend more time with Carmella,
uh, the person behind the Raphael House.
I think the-- What you're really doing,
for this community as well as
just the stories that I heard
while I was there,
it's just amazing.
I would love to know kind of what inspired you.
Well, I was a teenage mom.
I got pregnant when I was 16,
and had my son when I was 17 years old.
There was domestic violence in my family,
but back in those day, there weren't shelters for families.
You know, for ms to get away from the violence.
So, you just had to live with it.
After my son grew up,
I just felt like I wanted to make
the life-- the world a little bit better place.
So, I came here 22 years ago
and started Raphael House.
If you look at this person, Carmella,
that's a person that's been through a lot of hardship.
I mean, someone that's dedicated a large part of her life
to just trying to go and help someone.
And my greatest jy is finding
good housing for somebody in a safe neighborhood
and a good job somewher,
so they can have their kids in a better environment.
Carmella is an amazing person.
She enjoys working there,
and it's not about the money.
This is a way of life for her,
and she's completely selfless.
Yes, you .
Oh, you're welcome.
Okay.
I'm drained, and exhausted.
Or both.
Uh, it's been a long week
worth of a lot of emotions.
Watch your back, 360 degrees, every second.
[sirens]
I was desperate and somewhat suicidal.
I had had it.
I was in a relationship that was--
Did it ever get physical?
Every day.
I'm feeling anxious. I'm feeling nervous.
This decision is getting harder and harder.
Am I making the right decision?
Am I not making the right decision?
Who do I give to? Who else should I give to?
And as I go to sleep tonight,
these questions are pounding and pounding my head.
I've been through a lot,
and I realized I needed someone else to talk to.
If there's anyone that I would want
to be here with me,
it would be my sister, Nirmal.
[phone rings]
I'm excited to see my sister.
Having her here will really, really mean a lot to me.
Oh, Gosh, how are you?
I felt relief.
I felt an inner desire to just hug her
and just have someone that can
realize what I went through.
How have you been?
Uh--
I would say, uh--
[sighs]
Hey,
It's okay.
Come here.
[crying]
It's okay.
I guess that's five days worth of emotions, right there.
I've seen a l.
I've talked to a lot of people.
I've, uh--
I've had them open their hearts up to me.
And, uh,
I started off volunteering
at, uh, this homeless shelter
called St. Anthony's.
Some of these people, jus, they go into that place
and get their food
and get treated with some dignity.
Seeing my brother cry--
In one way, I was really glad
that he was letting his emotions out,
'cause he's-- He's a very guarded person.
But at the same time, I'm his big sister, I--
I don't want him to cry. I wanted to make it all better.
But, I knew that those tears
were not really of sadness, you know?
He was going to do something good.
He head learned something.
So, in that regard, it was okay that he was crying.
Regardless of who you decide to help,
the outcome is going to be great.
I know you'll make the right choice.
Okay.
Putting my sister back in that cab
made me realize that this was it.
This was my therapy session, and it's now over.
And now it's all about making the right decision.