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| birth_place = Fresno, California | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | monuments = | residence = | nationality = | other_names = | ethnicity = Mexican-American〔Phelps, Carissa; and Larkin Warren (2012). ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'', Viking Adult/Penguin Group Publishing, page 18. ISBN 978-0670023721〕 | citizenship = United States | education = Bachelor's degree (Mathematics) Master of Business Administration Juris doctorate | alma_mater = Cuesta College; University of California, Berkeley; California State University, Fresno; UCLA School of Law; UCLA Anderson School of Management | occupation = nonprofit executive; attorney | years_active = | employer = | organization = Runaway Girl, Inc. | agent = Stuart Krichevsky | known_for = author, attorney, community activist; founder of Runaway Girl, Inc. | notable_works = ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'' | style = | home_town = Coalinga, California | salary = | net_worth = | height = | weight = | television = | title = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | movement = | opponents = | boards = | religion = Catholic | spouse = | partner = | children = | parents = Richard Phelps Sharol Macleod | relatives = | awards = | signature = | signature_alt = | signature_size = | website = | footnotes = }} Carissa Phelps (born September 12, 1976) is a Mexican-American author, attorney, and advocate for sexually exploited runaway children and homeless youth. She is known as the subject of the award-winning documentary, ''Carissa'', directed by David Sauvage and produced by Davis Guggenheim, Chad Troutwine, and Jamie McCourt.〔http://www.carissaproject.com/bios.html〕 The 2008 film revisits her life as a sexually exploited runaway child living on the streets of Fresno, California. Having been involved in various petty crimes and probation violations, as well as grand theft auto,〔Phelps, Carissa; and Larkin Warren (2012). ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'', Viking Adult/Penguin Group Publishing, page 105. ISBN 978-0670023721〕 she was incarcerated at the CK Wakefield Home for Boys, during their pilot program to integrate girls into the facility as an option to sentencing them to the California Youth Authority. Teaching herself mathematics and working to overcome numerous rapes, sexual exploitation, and substance abuse and addictions, she eventually graduated with an MBA and a law degree from UCLA. She is the founder of Runaway Girl, Inc., which advocates for runaway and homeless youth, while providing training for organizations to effectively reach out and address homelessness and human trafficking. In 2012, her life story was told in the book, ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time''. == Early life == Carissa Phelps was born on September 12, 1976, in Fresno, California. She is the daughter of Richard Phelps and Sharol Macleod. Phelps had five brothers and sisters, including older sisters Emily, Sophie, and Sky; older brother Richie; and younger brother, Jacob. Phelps' mother was a member of the Jehovah's Witnesses church and raised her children in those beliefs. While her husband, Richard, did not consider himself a member, she attended services and events together with her children on a regular basis.〔Phelps, Carissa; and Larkin Warren (2012). ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'', Viking Adult/Penguin Group Publishing, pps 8–9. ISBN 978-0670023721〕 As members of the Jehovah's Witnesses church, the Phelps family did not celebrate holidays, including birthdays, Christmas, and Easter. Phelps' parents were divorced when she was five years old. Soon after the divorce, her mother left Coalinga with her six children and moved to southern California, where she married a man named Steve Macleod. When the families were moved into one home, there were a total of ten children, expanded to 11, after the birth of Phelps' new brother, Ethan.〔Phelps, Carissa; and Larkin Warren (2012). ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'', Viking Adult/Penguin Group Publishing, pps 11–12. ISBN 978-0670023721〕 While the Phelps family were members of the Jehovah's Witness church, the Macleod family were members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). After her mother remarried, the blended family began celebrating birthdays, Christmas, and Easter together, as was customary in the life of Phelps' new stepfather and step siblings.〔Phelps, Carissa; and Larkin Warren (2012). ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'', Viking Adult/Penguin Group Publishing, page 10. ISBN 978-0670023721〕 After five years in southern California, the family moved back to Coalinga, located an hour south of Fresno. With a family of 13, including 11 children in the home, life became a cycle of abuse, neglect, and abandonment. When Phelps' sister, Emily was 15 years old, she successfully petitioned the courts for emancipation.〔Phelps, Carissa; and Larkin Warren (2012). ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'', Viking Adult/Penguin Group Publishing, page 183. ISBN 978-0670023721〕 When Phelps was in fifth grade, she won a scholastic math award. She was honored with an awards ceremony at her school, during which she was presented with a signed letter by US President Ronald Reagan, in which he acknowledged her accomplishments. When her mother's response was less than enthusiastic, Phelps acted out in various ways, including fighting, shoplifting, and staying out past curfew. Oftentimes, she would disappear for hours at night riding her bike, just to keep out of the drama that enveloped the family's home.〔Phelps, Carissa; and Larkin Warren (2012). ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'', Viking Adult/Penguin Group Publishing, page 19. ISBN 978-0670023721〕 When Phelps was 11 years old, her sister, Sky warned her that their stepfather had been making sexual advances toward her and offered money in exchange for her virginity. Sky suggested that Phelps moved with her younger brother, Jacob, to Redding, California, to live with their father and older brother, Richie. After a conversation with their father and a confrontation between the daughters and their mother, it was agreed that Phelps and her younger brother would move to Redding. After arriving, the children were enrolled in tae kwon do classes and gymnastics. While their father had plans to remarry and looked forward to starting a new family, his girlfriend turned down his proposal, which caused him to spiral into drinking and depression. After the children discovered their father's pornographic video collection, they realized that life at their father's house wasn't the safe haven that Sky thought it would be. A couple of weeks later, the children returned to their mother's home in Coalinga. By this time, five of her siblings had left the home, leaving in addition to herself, her brothers Jacob and Ethan, and step-siblings Sara, Tanner, and Travis.〔Phelps, Carissa; and Larkin Warren (2012). ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'', Viking Adult/Penguin Group Publishing, pps 23–29. ISBN 978-0670023721〕 Phelps started junior high school, soon after returning to Coalinga. She found it difficult to acclimate to the new school and students. When other girls were wearing the latest fashion trends and makeup, Phelps was initially unable to afford such things. She was also self-conscious due to dental work that she needed, but couldn't afford. She soon became defiant of authority and began acting out by skipping classes and cursing at her teachers. The summer following eighth grade, Phelps began wearing makeup and dressing in the style that was popular for young girls of Mexican descent. The style, known as chola, included wearing thick black eyeliner, bright red lipstick, large hooped earrings, and lots of hairspray. As she adopted the current trends and styles, Phelps began attracting the attention of boys in her school.〔Phelps, Carissa; and Larkin Warren (2012). ''Runaway Girl: Escaping Life on the Streets, One Helping Hand at a Time'', Viking Adult/Penguin Group Publishing, pps 34–35. ISBN 978-0670023721〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Carissa Phelps」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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