Did Charlene Make It?

I wished so hard that she would

Photo by Eric Ward on Unsplash

Trigger warning: Some readers may find the following story of youth homelessness disturbing.

I met *Charlene in the autumn of 2002. She was sitting on the pavement outside a bank on the high road in north west London near where I live. I guess she caught my attention because she looked so young. She turned out to be nineteen. I was pregnant with my…