Reflections Magazine Issue #71 - Spring 2010 | Page 11

Feature Article

A Step Backward

“Pat never minced words,” Milligan said. “He
said, ‘You have to show me you’re worth it.’ …
You could see the harder I worked, the harder
Pat tried to help me.” Milligan said he thrived
in the Siena environment. In fact, in many ways
it became his new family.

Being a ward of the state meant Milligan didn’t
stay in one location very long. In fact, after initially living with his stepsister, he spent the next
few years bouncing around from foster home
to boys homes—even living with ministers who
took in wayward boys. That instability took its
toll on Milligan’s stu