Using Soccer to Turn it Around

Lisa Wrightsman used soccer to turn her life around, and now she's using it to help others do the same. Wrightsman was in a semipro league, but later succumbed to drugs, alcohol, homelessness and jail. Last year, however, she entered a Volunteers of America recovery program and discovered their street soccer program. With soccer as her pivot, she made a big shift in her own life, and then saw the potential of street soccer as a movement to help others also get off the street. "I saw she changed. I wanted what worked for her to work for me," said Christina Sanchez, 31, who is now part of the team. With Wrightman's leadership, for the first time, Sacramento will send a women's Mohawks homeless soccer team to the national tournament this summer.

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