lady.

CHASSITY WELCH GAVE BIRTH AT THE TENDER AGE OF FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. THE BABY WAS PREMATURE, BUT THANKFULLY SURVIVED AFTER A STINT IN NEW YORK METHODIST'S NICO. THE GENTLE HEARTED NURSES DID THEIR JOB THOROUGHLY AND WELL; CHASSITY LEFT THE HOSPITAL WITHIN DAYS OF GIVING BIRTH, BUT NEVER RETURNED FOR HER DAUGHTER. NO FATHER WAS LISTED ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE. THE STATE INTERVIEWED SEVERAL POTENTIAL PARENTS, BUT THE LITTLE GIRL WAS PUT IN THE FOSTER SYSTEM AFTER THE THIRD ADOPTION FELL THROUGH.

LEELYN WAS WITH HER FIRST FOSTER FAMILY FOR TWELVE AND A HALF YEARS, ALONG WITH ANOTHER BLONDE GIRL OF SIMILAR AGE. PATRICIA AND BRIAN WERE PERFECT PARENTS FOR THE FIRST FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS. BOTH GIRLS WERE FED, CLOTHED, HAD A SAFE ENVIRONMENT AND EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED. EVENTUALLY, THOUGH, PATRICIA BEGAN TO TAKE HER ANGER AND STRESS OUT ON BOTH GIRLS VERBALLY. BRIAN FOLLOWED SUIT, BUT HIS HANDS WERE EITHER LEAVING BRUISES OR TOUCHING INAPPROPRIATELY. WHEN THEIR MARRIAGE DISSOLVED OVER BRIAN'S PERVERSIONS, BOTH GIRLS RETURNED TO THE SYSTEM. PATRICIA DID NOT ELECT TO KEEP EITHER CHILD.

BY THE TIME LEELYN WAS THIRTEEN, SHE WAS SHUTTLED FROM MANHATTAN TO QUEENS AND HER SMALL BAG OF POSSESSIONS WERE UNPACKED IN A SMALL TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT THAT WAS OWNED BY A WOMAN NAMED MARLENA. MARLENA WAS UNABLE TO PHYSICALLY HAVE CHILDREN AND HER KIND HEART TURNED HER TO THE FOSTER SYSTEM TO LOVE CHILDREN WHO HAD NO ONE TO LOVE THEM PROPERLY. SHE WAS, LEELYN STILL TELLS PEOPLE, EXACTLY WHAT EACH FOSTER PARENT SHOULD BE. KIND, SELFLESS, HONEST, HARD WORKING, AND COMPASSIONATE. SHE TAUGHT LEELYN HOW TO COOK, HOW TO SHAVE HER LEGS, HOW TO APPLY MASCARA. MARLENA HELPED HER WITH HER HOMEWORK, HELD HER WHILE SHE CRIED OVER BEING BULLIED, AND ESSENTIALLY EQUIPPED LEELYN WITH ALL THE TOOLS SHE WOULD NEED TO SURVIVE IN THE WORLD.

IT TOOK YEARS BEFORE LEELYN TRUSTED MARLENA. THERAPY SESSIONS, LOUD ARGUMENTS BETWEEN THEM, AND MARLENA ALL BUT BEGGING EVENTUALLY BROKE THE DAM IN LEELYN'S MIND. FINALLY, THE TEENAGER WISHED WITH HOPELESS ABANDON, SHE HAD A REAL HOME. LEELYN STAYED WITH MARLENA UNTIL SHE GRADUATED, BUT THE GRACIOUS WOMAN FELL VICTIM TO CANCER SHORTLY AFTER. AGAIN, BUT UNDER SEVERELY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, LEELYN WAS ALONE. THIS TIME, HOWEVER, SHE WAS OLD ENOUGH TO ENTER THE WORK FORCE AND HER FEAR OF LIVING ON THE STREETS HAD HER CLAMORING FOR EXTRA SHIFTS AT THE DINER AND TAKING UP ODD JOBS IN ORDER TO PAY HER BILLS. SHE NEVER DID END UP ON THE STREET OR IN THE SHELTER. LEELYN THINKS MARLENA WOULD TAKE THAT AS A VICTORY.

LEELYN HAS HAD SEVERAL UNCOMFORTABLE LIVING ARRANGEMENTS. SHE HAS LIVED IN A TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT WITH FOUR OTHER PEOPLE, ALL STRANGERS TOO EACH OTHER, AND BOTH ROOMS WERE ARMED WITH BUNK BEDS, THE LIVING ROOM A PULL OUT SOFA BED. ANOTHER STRANGE ROOMMATE WAS AN ELDERLY MAN, DEAF AND NOT THE LEAST SOCIABLE. ONLY ONE LIVING ARRANGEMENT LED TO, WHAT SHE CALLS, SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE. RENTING A ROOM FROM A FAMILY, SHE BEGAN DATING ONE OF THE COUPLE'S SONS. SHE WAS NINETEEN AND HE WAS HER FIRST EVERYTHING IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. THE SITUATION TURNED MESSY AND SHE WAS FORCED TO FIND ANOTHER LIVING ARRANGEMENT IMMEDIATELY.

AS A KID, LEELYN SUFFERED FROM AN UNHEALTHY AMOUNT OF SELF ESTEEM ISSUES AND LIKE MOST CHILDREN, SHE WAS BULLIED. HER THIN FRAME, SQUINTED FACE, AND FRIZZY HAIR MADE HER AN EASY TARGET. IT DID NOT HELP THAT SHE SPENT HER ELEMENTARY YEARS HOMESCHOOLED AND THUS LACKED CERTAIN SOCIALIZING THAT CAME LATER IN LIFE. SHE CAME INTO HERSELF BY THE TIME SHE GRADUATED THOUGH, THANKS TO MARLENA. LEELYN SHED THE BETTER PART OF HER INSECURITIES, EVEN SHE KEPT MOST OF HER PAST EXPERIENCES BURIED SO DEEP THAT THEY STILL HAVEN'T BEEN SPOKEN ALOUD. THOSE SECRETS DIED WITH MARLENA.

WHILE RENTING FROM THE ASPEN FAMILY, LEELYN TOOK A WAITRESSING POSITION AT A GENTLEMEN'S CLUB THAT OPENED IN BROOKLYN. SHE KEPT HER FULL TIME POSITION AT THE DINER AND KEPT HER HOURS AT FOXY'S PART-TIME. FOXY'S GREW INTO A REPUTABLE ESTABLISHMENT, THOUGH, AND LEELYN JUMPED ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO FULL TIME WHEN IT WAS PRESENTED. THE MONEY WAS A LOT BETTER AND SHE HAD MORE TIME OFF. STILL, SHE KEPT A COUPLE SHIFTS A WEEK AT THE DINER SIMPLY BECAUSE SHE HAD BONDED TO COWORKERS AND A FEW REGULARS. IT WAS THEN, WHEN HER INCOME INCREASED, THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO SIGN A LEASE ON HER OWN. THIS MEANT SHE WOULD HAVE MORE CONTROL OF THE ROOMMATE SITUATIONS. WITH THAT, SHE BID DEAF OLAF FAREWELL.

LEELYN HAS LIVED IN DUMBO, BROOKLYN SINCE THEN AND HAS LOVED IT. ROOMMATES HAVE COME AND GONE; OLAF EVEN CRASHED THERE BETWEEN HIS LEASES, BUT OF COURSE THAT WAS HER FAVORITE ROOMATE AND SHE WAS SAD TO TELL HIM GOODBYE A SECOND TIME. OLAF, THOUGH EXTREMELY UNSOCIABLE, TAUGHT HER ENOUGH SIGN LANGUAGE TO GET HER BY IN A PINCH. HER FAVORITE SIGNING IS ANYTHING PROFANE AND VULGAR. SIMPLY BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT -- USUALLY, THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW AWKWARD SITUATIONS ARISE. BEING CLOSE TO THE WATER AND DECORATING HER SPACE TO HER TASTES OVER TIME BROUGHT A REAL INNER PEACE TO HER LIFE. A TRUE FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT.

IT'S TRUE THAT LEELYN IS A SURVIVOR, BUT SHE DOESN'T BELIEVE THAT MAKES HER ANY MORE SPECIAL THAN THE NEXT PERSON TO LIVE THROUGH HARSH TIMES. SHE TENDS TO BE ATTRACTED TO LOST SOULS, PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRUDGED THROUGH DARKNESS, AND PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST PLAIN DIFFICULT. ON SOME LEVEL, SHE RELATES TO THEM. SHE ISN'T RECOVERED FROM HER OWN DAMAGE AND FEELS MOST UNDERSTOOD AND COMFORTABLE AROUND PEOPLE WHO CAN ACCEPT THAT, EVEN IF SHE DOESN'T SPEAK ON IT OR ACKNOWLEDGE IT. SHE IS QUICK TO GET HER FEELINGS HURT OR FEEL EMBARRASSMENT AND THOSE EMOTIONS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS PRESENTED TO THE UNTRAINED EYE AS ANGER OR RESENTMENT. SHE HATES HOW DELICATE HER HEART IS AND HOW CARELESSLY SHE TREATS IT.

ONE DAY A WEEK, LEELYN VOLUNTEERS AT A FOSTER ORGANIZATION IN MANHATTAN. SHE DOES IT BECAUSE SHE WISHES SOMEONE HAD BEEN THERE FOR HER. EVERYTHING ADMITTED TO HER OR EVEN SO MUH AS IMPLIED TO HER IS REPORTED BACK TO SOCIAL WORKERS OF SHE BELIEVES A CHILD IS IN TROUBLE. SHE HAS A LOT OF FAITH IN SOCIAL WORKERS, BUT NONE IN THE SYSTEM ITSELF. RECENTLY, IN THE LAST YEAR, SHE HAS TALKED ABOUT GOING BACK TO SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK. HER HEART CARRIES A WEIGHT IN IT THAT SHE HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO BE A ROCK FOR THE KIDS WHO ARE ROBBED OF THEIR VOICE AND STRIPPED OF THEIR SELF WORTH. BEING A FOSTER IS SOMETHING SHE PLANS TO DO WHEN HER LIFE IS MORE STABLE THAN IT IS. FOR NOW, THOUGH, SHE KEEPS HER GOALS SMALL AND REACHABLE AS TO NOT CRUSH HER OWN SPIRIT.

full name Leelyn Agatha Tillman. age + birthdate 25 + May 18. current residence Greenpoint, Brooklyn. occupation Dancer at Scores. status, etc Heterosexual & single. connections
	©
	CHASSITY WELCH GAVE BIRTH AT THE TENDER AGE OF FIFTEEN YEARS OLD. THE BABY WAS PREMATURE, BUT THANKFULLY SURVIVED AFTER A STINT IN NEW YORK METHODIST'S NICO. THE GENTLE HEARTED NURSES DID THEIR JOB THOROUGHLY AND WELL; CHASSITY LEFT THE HOSPITAL WITHIN DAYS OF GIVING BIRTH, BUT NEVER RETURNED FOR HER DAUGHTER. NO FATHER WAS LISTED ON THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE. THE STATE INTERVIEWED SEVERAL POTENTIAL PARENTS, BUT THE LITTLE GIRL WAS PUT IN THE FOSTER SYSTEM AFTER THE THIRD ADOPTION FELL THROUGH. LEELYN WAS WITH HER FIRST FOSTER FAMILY FOR TWELVE AND A HALF YEARS, ALONG WITH ANOTHER BLONDE GIRL OF SIMILAR AGE. PATRICIA AND BRIAN WERE PERFECT PARENTS FOR THE FIRST FIVE TO SEVEN YEARS. BOTH GIRLS WERE FED, CLOTHED, HAD A SAFE ENVIRONMENT AND EVERYTHING THEY NEEDED. EVENTUALLY, THOUGH, PATRICIA BEGAN TO TAKE HER ANGER AND STRESS OUT ON BOTH GIRLS VERBALLY. BRIAN FOLLOWED SUIT, BUT HIS HANDS WERE EITHER LEAVING BRUISES OR TOUCHING INAPPROPRIATELY. WHEN THEIR MARRIAGE DISSOLVED OVER BRIAN'S PERVERSIONS, BOTH GIRLS RETURNED TO THE SYSTEM. PATRICIA DID NOT ELECT TO KEEP EITHER CHILD. BY THE TIME LEELYN WAS THIRTEEN, SHE WAS SHUTTLED FROM MANHATTAN TO QUEENS AND HER SMALL BAG OF POSSESSIONS WERE UNPACKED IN A SMALL TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT THAT WAS OWNED BY A WOMAN NAMED MARLENA. MARLENA WAS UNABLE TO PHYSICALLY HAVE CHILDREN AND HER KIND HEART TURNED HER TO THE FOSTER SYSTEM TO LOVE CHILDREN WHO HAD NO ONE TO LOVE THEM PROPERLY. SHE WAS, LEELYN STILL TELLS PEOPLE, EXACTLY WHAT EACH FOSTER PARENT SHOULD BE. KIND, SELFLESS, HONEST, HARD WORKING, AND COMPASSIONATE. SHE TAUGHT LEELYN HOW TO COOK, HOW TO SHAVE HER LEGS, HOW TO APPLY MASCARA. MARLENA HELPED HER WITH HER HOMEWORK, HELD HER WHILE SHE CRIED OVER BEING BULLIED, AND ESSENTIALLY EQUIPPED LEELYN WITH ALL THE TOOLS SHE WOULD NEED TO SURVIVE IN THE WORLD. IT TOOK YEARS BEFORE LEELYN TRUSTED MARLENA. THERAPY SESSIONS, LOUD ARGUMENTS BETWEEN THEM, AND MARLENA ALL BUT BEGGING EVENTUALLY BROKE THE DAM IN LEELYN'S MIND. FINALLY, THE TEENAGER WISHED WITH HOPELESS ABANDON, SHE HAD A REAL HOME. LEELYN STAYED WITH MARLENA UNTIL SHE GRADUATED, BUT THE GRACIOUS WOMAN FELL VICTIM TO CANCER SHORTLY AFTER. AGAIN, BUT UNDER SEVERELY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, LEELYN WAS ALONE. THIS TIME, HOWEVER, SHE WAS OLD ENOUGH TO ENTER THE WORK FORCE AND HER FEAR OF LIVING ON THE STREETS HAD HER CLAMORING FOR EXTRA SHIFTS AT THE DINER AND TAKING UP ODD JOBS IN ORDER TO PAY HER BILLS. SHE NEVER DID END UP ON THE STREET OR IN THE SHELTER. LEELYN THINKS MARLENA WOULD TAKE THAT AS A VICTORY. LEELYN HAS HAD SEVERAL UNCOMFORTABLE LIVING ARRANGEMENTS. SHE HAS LIVED IN A TWO BEDROOM APARTMENT WITH FOUR OTHER PEOPLE, ALL STRANGERS TOO EACH OTHER, AND BOTH ROOMS WERE ARMED WITH BUNK BEDS, THE LIVING ROOM A PULL OUT SOFA BED. ANOTHER STRANGE ROOMMATE WAS AN ELDERLY MAN, DEAF AND NOT THE LEAST SOCIABLE. ONLY ONE LIVING ARRANGEMENT LED TO, WHAT SHE CALLS, SERIOUS CONSEQUENCE. RENTING A ROOM FROM A FAMILY, SHE BEGAN DATING ONE OF THE COUPLE'S SONS. SHE WAS NINETEEN AND HE WAS HER FIRST EVERYTHING IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD. THE SITUATION TURNED MESSY AND SHE WAS FORCED TO FIND ANOTHER LIVING ARRANGEMENT IMMEDIATELY. AS A KID, LEELYN SUFFERED FROM AN UNHEALTHY AMOUNT OF SELF ESTEEM ISSUES AND LIKE MOST CHILDREN, SHE WAS BULLIED. HER THIN FRAME, SQUINTED FACE, AND FRIZZY HAIR MADE HER AN EASY TARGET. IT DID NOT HELP THAT SHE SPENT HER ELEMENTARY YEARS HOMESCHOOLED AND THUS LACKED CERTAIN SOCIALIZING THAT CAME LATER IN LIFE. SHE CAME INTO HERSELF BY THE TIME SHE GRADUATED THOUGH, THANKS TO MARLENA. LEELYN SHED THE BETTER PART OF HER INSECURITIES, EVEN SHE KEPT MOST OF HER PAST EXPERIENCES BURIED SO DEEP THAT THEY STILL HAVEN'T BEEN SPOKEN ALOUD. THOSE SECRETS DIED WITH MARLENA. WHILE RENTING FROM THE ASPEN FAMILY, LEELYN TOOK A WAITRESSING POSITION AT A GENTLEMEN'S CLUB THAT OPENED IN BROOKLYN. SHE KEPT HER FULL TIME POSITION AT THE DINER AND KEPT HER HOURS AT FOXY'S PART-TIME. FOXY'S GREW INTO A REPUTABLE ESTABLISHMENT, THOUGH, AND LEELYN JUMPED ON THE OPPORTUNITY TO GO FULL TIME WHEN IT WAS PRESENTED. THE MONEY WAS A LOT BETTER AND SHE HAD MORE TIME OFF. STILL, SHE KEPT A COUPLE SHIFTS A WEEK AT THE DINER SIMPLY BECAUSE SHE HAD BONDED TO COWORKERS AND A FEW REGULARS. IT WAS THEN, WHEN HER INCOME INCREASED, THAT SHE WAS ABLE TO SIGN A LEASE ON HER OWN. THIS MEANT SHE WOULD HAVE MORE CONTROL OF THE ROOMMATE SITUATIONS. WITH THAT, SHE BID DEAF OLAF FAREWELL. LEELYN HAS LIVED IN DUMBO, BROOKLYN SINCE THEN AND HAS LOVED IT. ROOMMATES HAVE COME AND GONE; OLAF EVEN CRASHED THERE BETWEEN HIS LEASES, BUT OF COURSE THAT WAS HER FAVORITE ROOMATE AND SHE WAS SAD TO TELL HIM GOODBYE A SECOND TIME. OLAF, THOUGH EXTREMELY UNSOCIABLE, TAUGHT HER ENOUGH SIGN LANGUAGE TO GET HER BY IN A PINCH. HER FAVORITE SIGNING IS ANYTHING PROFANE AND VULGAR. SIMPLY BECAUSE PEOPLE HAVE NO IDEA WHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT -- USUALLY, THERE HAVE BEEN A FEW AWKWARD SITUATIONS ARISE. BEING CLOSE TO THE WATER AND DECORATING HER SPACE TO HER TASTES OVER TIME BROUGHT A REAL INNER PEACE TO HER LIFE. A TRUE FEELING OF ACCOMPLISHMENT. IT'S TRUE THAT LEELYN IS A SURVIVOR, BUT SHE DOESN'T BELIEVE THAT MAKES HER ANY MORE SPECIAL THAN THE NEXT PERSON TO LIVE THROUGH HARSH TIMES. SHE TENDS TO BE ATTRACTED TO LOST SOULS, PEOPLE WHO HAVE TRUDGED THROUGH DARKNESS, AND PEOPLE WHO ARE JUST PLAIN DIFFICULT. ON SOME LEVEL, SHE RELATES TO THEM. SHE ISN'T RECOVERED FROM HER OWN DAMAGE AND FEELS MOST UNDERSTOOD AND COMFORTABLE AROUND PEOPLE WHO CAN ACCEPT THAT, EVEN IF SHE DOESN'T SPEAK ON IT OR ACKNOWLEDGE IT. SHE IS QUICK TO GET HER FEELINGS HURT OR FEEL EMBARRASSMENT AND THOSE EMOTIONS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS PRESENTED TO THE UNTRAINED EYE AS ANGER OR RESENTMENT. SHE HATES HOW DELICATE HER HEART IS AND HOW CARELESSLY SHE TREATS IT. ONE DAY A WEEK, LEELYN VOLUNTEERS AT A FOSTER ORGANIZATION IN MANHATTAN. SHE DOES IT BECAUSE SHE WISHES SOMEONE HAD BEEN THERE FOR HER. EVERYTHING ADMITTED TO HER OR EVEN SO MUH AS IMPLIED TO HER IS REPORTED BACK TO SOCIAL WORKERS OF SHE BELIEVES A CHILD IS IN TROUBLE. SHE HAS A LOT OF FAITH IN SOCIAL WORKERS, BUT NONE IN THE SYSTEM ITSELF. RECENTLY, IN THE LAST YEAR, SHE HAS TALKED ABOUT GOING BACK TO SCHOOL FOR SOCIAL WORK. HER HEART CARRIES A WEIGHT IN IT THAT SHE HAS THE RESPONSIBILITY TO BE A ROCK FOR THE KIDS WHO ARE ROBBED OF THEIR VOICE AND STRIPPED OF THEIR SELF WORTH. BEING A FOSTER IS SOMETHING SHE PLANS TO DO WHEN HER LIFE IS MORE STABLE THAN IT IS. FOR NOW, THOUGH, SHE KEEPS HER GOALS SMALL AND REACHABLE AS TO NOT CRUSH HER OWN SPIRIT.