He’s running Boston for ‘the lifeline’ he found at The Home for Little Wanderers

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon athletes share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston.

Name: Jake Mikalauskis
Age: 26
From: Braintree, Mass. 

I’m not just running the 129th Boston Marathon—I’m running for my past. As a troubled teen once entangled in the juvenile system, I found a lifeline at The Home for Little Wanderers. Now, at 26, I’m lacing up to give back to the organization that changed my life.

As a teenager, I was impulsive and short-tempered, frequently getting into fights at school and having run-ins with the local police and juvenile court system. My behavior led to my commitment to the Department of Youth Services. During my freshman year of high school, the agency released me from its care and secured me a placement at Longview Farm, now known as The Home in Walpole. When you are a kid in a program like that, you can feel so detached from the outside world. But now, I am able to look back and see how much The Home taught me about real life and appreciate how it gave me those experiences.

The Home for Little Wanderers has helped children and families build permanent, positive change in the Northeast for more than 200 years. The Home cares for children in at-risk circumstances and offers more than 30 community-based and residential programs that support youth who have often experienced abuse, neglect, trauma, or a disrupted family life. The organization serves 15,000 children and family members each year in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and New York through its foster care and adoption, behavioral health, clinical services, special education schools, residential care, and young adult programs.

Now a father and Braintree resident, I’m eager to get out on the running course to bring visibility to this organization that makes a difference in the lives of so many kids and families each year.

Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.