Olivia has a father who is part Cuban and part African-American. He has not been part of her life, although she personally racially identifies with her African-American side. Her mother was of Mexican descent and was responsible for raising Olivia. Olivia's peers remind her of her mixed heritage, often emphasizing the Latino in her heritage which angers her. In denying her Latino heritage, Olivia is denying a piece of herself, in part because of the anger she harbors towards her mother for the physical abuse she suffered at her hands for so many years. As Olivia is from South Central Los Angeles, it might be to her benefit to reach out to the resources offered her as a member of the Latino community. One such organization helping Latino youth like Olivia is Power 106's The Knowledge Is Power Foundation. Their mission is to help develop viable skills and self-empowerment by way of on-the-job training opportunities and educational programs for "at-risk," Latino youth from East and South Central Los Angeles. Olivia could connect with this group through the A Place Called Home program that would offer her a stable environment and a place to go to do homework, create friendships and to interact and establish relationships with positive and caring adults. A Place Called Home is located in South Central and created with a framework in mind that caters to the youth in this section of the city.
While Olivia does not appear to suffer physically from any of the mistreatment inflicted upon her by her biological mother, her lifestyle has not been conducive to promoting physical health and well-being, especially in the area of nutritious eating.
What Olivia is unaware of is that the State of California provides a Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP) Program that is a preventive health program under the Children's Medical Services (CMS) and serving children and youth. CHDP makes regular
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