Former Homeless Teen Beat the Odds

Nov. 23, 2007 — -- From the time she ran away from home at age 12, the odds were against Carissa Phelps.

Living on the streets of Fresno, Calif., surviving any way she could, she was preyed upon by men who said they would take care her but often ended up using her.

"It's the streets," Phelps said. "If you see any guys, you go with them, you hang out. You're a runaway."

By age 13, she was fully immersed in a world of prostitution, violence, rape and homelessness.

Amazingly though, Phelps fought back and went on to graduate from UCLA's law school and business school with an MBA degree.

Phelps is telling her story in a new documentary called "Carissa," with the help of Academy-Award-winning filmmaker David Guggenheim, director of "An Inconvenient Truth."

Click here to find out the documentary.

Find out about helping homeless teens at www.homelessyouthamongus.org.

In the film, she bravely relives the dark memories of her past. One of 11 children, Phelps initially ran away from an abusive stepfather and a mother who didn't protect her.

"I had to leave home," Phelps told "Good Morning America." "It was, it was abusive and we were too many kids in one house. Ten brothers and sisters and my stepdad was beating up my brothers and trying to exploit my sister, and I just thought, I'm gonna get out of here before he does it to me."

She moved around from group homes to juvenile hall to seedy hotels as a teen prostitute.

"I was a target to be sexually exploited," she said. "They very much understand your psychology and that you're vulnerable and they exploit you, very slowly tell you things like I love you and I'll be your boyfriend, and they're 24 years old and you're 12, or they're 40 and you're 12."

But luckily, Phelps found mentors who helped her realize her potential and pursue it.

She credits Ron Jenkins, a former Fresno State football player who became a counselor at Fresno juvenile hall, with saving her life.

Jenkins saw how smart Phelps was and told her getting an education would help her change her life.

Phelps later had a high school math teacher named Mrs. Weggeman who also encouraged her to achieve her goals.