Jackie Long’s daughter, Callie, had a charmed life growing up in Aspen, Colorado. She played soccer and excelled in school, graduating with straight A’s. But her little girl had a demon inside her, and drugs and addiction took her. Jackie was understandably crushed, but she used her pain to take her in a different direction.
As part of Callie’s Backyard Foundation, Jackie now regularly visits homeless camps and brings back dozens of young people to her van, where she hands out homemade sandwiches and juice packets. But more than that, she connects with them, and gives them hope.
Jackie also works with local police on a statewide sex trafficking task force, and helped fix up a downtown youth shelter.
Says Jackie: “I’m just a mom out here. I don’t have a dog in the fight. I don’t have kids anymore. But I believe in doing something for these kids.”
