From Childhood, I was always there: Empathizing with, Fighting or and Educating to empower the underdog. After I married, 1961, I moved from California to Nevada, on the edge of a Paiute Reservation. I became a 2nd grade teacher’s aid in “Indian School,” and was accepted into their most sacred gatherings, After my oldest son was 1 yr old, I opened a “Family Style pre-school /after- school program in which we learned a Paiute prayer from one of the dear elders, Gussie, who taught us traditional pictoral story-telling, dancing and chants. We even made a story skin and drums.. When I followed my husband’s career to the Virgin Islands, I added East and West Indian Cultures to my school room environment, and while teaching in public school there, I started another “Family Style” after-school/summer school program for 7-14 year olds in my home. The curriculum was on the Tropical Environment evolving from Under Sea Life to shoreline Mangroves and Tropical Rain Forests. As the culminating activity we displayed all we had learned in a Sea to Land Opera, most of the songs coming from “The Little Mermaid.” My approaches were always unconventional, innovative, and challenging in the development of academic, life, creative & social skills, beyond the grade level they were in. Also, from kindergarten through Middle School, I was always sent the children that were hyper-active, behavioral problems, and so called “learning disabled” that frustrated other teachers. By finding and focusing on their natural talents and interests, they were motivated to develop academic skills that showcased those interests. I found that all students excelled at something and could be teachers of those skills to students at a lower level of competence. Even students that were held back were transferred to my class and enjoyed the prestige of teaching students who were just at the beginning of learning that skill. That gave previously underachieving students prestige and status in the classroom, helped them overcome feeling like a failure and motivated them to excel. Decades ago in Florida I first developed “Healing Homelessness” protocols. My life moved me from Florida, but many of those protocols were recognized and implemented by the Homeless advocates and stakeholders there. Now, those protocols have been adapted to the needs of Shasta Co. and expanded to building community with the public sector.