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This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.
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People thought she would end up poor or locked up. She proved them wrong.

Annie Gilbertson
Published Sep 10, 2018 6:43 PM
Liliana Flores at a park in the San Fernando Valley. (Annie Gilbertson/KPCC)
Liliana Flores at a park in the San Fernando Valley. "They had this image of me — and the people who are incarcerated — [that] they are just bad people," she said. "It pissed me off." After years of cycling in and out of juvenile detention, she decided to turn her life around.
(
Annie Gilbertson/KPCC
)
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People thought she would end up poor or locked up. She proved them wrong.

Lilana Flores had the bad luck of being born into poverty and violence. She sensed people expected little of her, and as a teenager ended up in the hands of L.A. County's beleaguered foster care and probation agencies. Ultimately, Liliana decided to turn her life around.

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