Teen Trouble (2012) s01e02 Episode Script
Jacob
You're 17.
You want to be a man? Take responsibility.
I'm Josh Shipp.
When a teen is out of control I don't want you here when you're stoned.
And the parents are out of options - It doesn't matter! - You idiot! I get the call.
Tonight on "Teen Trouble" You no idea of the crap that he's put me through.
I've only got one shot to save 17 year old Jacob.
My mind is messed up.
I really don't care.
I just want him out of my life.
You felt it was okay to rub dog (bleep) in your son's face? When's the last time your parents said "I love you"? This is not the suburbs.
People out here are ruthless.
- Jacob could end up here.
- It would be his choice! Why are you running away from your son? Why don't you just shut up?! I know what it means to be a teen in trouble.
I was one Abandoned, abused, addicted but I beat the odds.
I'm a teen behavior specialist.
My approach is gritty, gutsy You can lie to everyone else.
You will not lie to me.
And in your face.
You're acting like a spoiled brat.
It's ridiculous.
My mission is to wake these teens and their parents up Here's a condom.
Here we have a beer can.
Before it's too late.
I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you throw away your life.
This week, I'm in Los Angeles, California, where 17 year old Jacob is lying You gave somebody our house key? - I talked to mom about it.
- Liar.
He cannot tell the truth to save his soul.
- Stealing - There's only one person in this house who steals, And that's you, Jacob.
Ugh! And smoking a massive amount of dope.
When I'm on marijuana, I go a little crazy.
The manager thinks I did this.
The manager thinks I did this.
His parents are convinced there's no hope.
The day he turns 18, he's out of here.
When I was 16, I started smoking weed and drinking.
It became a daily thing.
My parents are sick of it.
Jacob, I'm asking you to leave.
I don't want you here when you're stoned.
Jacob, I don't need to have you here while you are stoned.
I'm not even stoned right now.
It's just my eyes are red.
Fine.
Get out of the house.
I don't have to put up with this.
I just can't put up with this anymore.
This happens all the time because I keep on being stoned and People don't look at him and say he's a bad kid.
No, they look at me and say I'm a bad parent.
Jacob's totally unable to be controlled in any way because of the uh, uh, marijuana.
If he comes home stoned, we tell him "there's a 10:00 curfew.
"You don't come into the house until that curfew occurs.
"You can sleep here and that's about it, as long as you're stoned.
" The reason I smoke is because I get high You know, Jacob, you swear up and down you didn't take any money from my purse.
I stole so many things I can't even remember all of them.
Like, you took it, didn't you? Nothing is safe in the house.
In the last three months, he has stolen probably $250 to $400 from me.
I mean, I hang my purse in my bedroom and you still take money out of it? You idiot! I've had the police at my house at least ten times.
Ma, can you just open the door, please? I'm just tired of it.
I just don't want anything to do with him anymore.
Dad, can you do me a favor and tell mom to please let me in? We're feeling very helpless right now.
We've taken away just about everything we can think of to take away from him, and none of it has any effect.
I don't want to steal, to lie, to do marijuana.
I have problems.
I came to America with problems.
When Jacob was 5, we adopted him and his brothers and sisters from Kazakhstan.
Hello, America.
This whole class of little 5 year olds had these Fluffy coats on.
They looked like little Teddy bears.
And they gave Jacob to me, and the other little kids were holding up their arms And going, "mama.
Mama.
Mama.
" I could've taken every single one of them home.
Hey, mama, you wanna Look how many children I got.
I know.
I'm looking.
We came for 3 and got 20.
When they told the staff that Jacob had been adopted by an American family, they said, "oh, my goodness.
I hope they don't want to send him back because he's so wild.
" He, apparently, gave the staff a run for their money.
When we got back to America, we went to the zoo, we went to Disneyland.
I didn't realize how much fun it was going to be.
Jacob's very outgoing.
He's very funny, very charming, and he's so damn cute.
He's always wanted to be an actor.
I was in "Pinocchio" at the children's theater.
Even though I got only one line, I still took it to heart.
- My one line was - "Duh!" But I did it pretty well.
When Jacob was 15, he had this relationship with a girl who was three years older than him.
It was my first experience with a woman.
She kept asking me to sneak out to see her, to sleep over, and then she asked if I wanted to drink alcohol.
Jacob was prenatally exposed to alcohol, so when he has drugs or alcohol, his brain just goes off into a tizzy.
When I get high, I feel it ten times more because my mom was an alcoholic.
I don't want to be using marijuana, but I can't stop.
I-I can't control myself.
You are 17 years old.
When someone offers me something, I can't help but to say "yes" in that moment.
I use marijuana to take away the pain that I have inside of me, but it's destroying me.
Don't bother coming home stoned and don't bother coming home after 10:00.
I remember the good times and what that little kid was really like.
What he is today I don't know this kid at all.
I am lost.
I am lost.
After all I've been through, my mind is messed up.
I really don't care.
I just want him out of my life at this point.
I'm counting down till the day he's 18, and and that's the end of my association with him.
I am right outside of Los Angeles.
I'm here to work with 17 year old Jacob.
He's facing enormous challenges with his abandonment issues and fetal alcohol syndrome.
Everything I can gather about Jacob's parents is that they're just frustrated, upset, exhausted.
And so I'm gonna meet with them first.
Normally, I would meet them at home, but from the footage I've seen, their house looks like an episode of "hoarders.
" Essentially, like, if we were to meet at the house, that would just be one big distraction.
And with so little time, I've got to pick my battles and keep the focus on Jacob.
I'm worried that maybe they've washed their hands of him a year ago and I'm just here too late.
Hey, guys.
You must be Joanne.
- I am Joanne.
- Josh Shipp.
How do you do? - Hi.
Nice to meet you.
- Jeff? - Yeah.
Nice to meet.
You.
- Pleasure.
- Yeah.
- How are you How are you feeling? A little nervous.
Why? I'm hoping that you can help Jacob, but I don't know if you can help him.
Mm-hmm.
What do you hope for Jacob? What would be the ideal result? You know, uh, he could be a productive person if he could not drive the family crazy, because right now, nobody in the family really wants him there.
My goal for him is to want him back in the house - Mm.
Right.
- On September 6th.
You guys have that date down very specific.
- It's his 18th birthday.
- Birthday.
Right.
And I'm marking the calendar right now.
Yeah, it's to that point.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Yeah, I hope.
- I don't think that's funny.
No, it's not.
Hopefully that will change, but Right now, that's the way it is.
- You guys are just fed up, exhausted - Yeah.
- Worn down.
- Right.
- We wouldn't mind him staying in the house - Mm-hmm.
Being a part of the family, uh, if he could control some of his choices.
Well, here's one thing that I know that's bottom-line Uh-huh.
Teenagers need unconditional love in order to thrive.
As his parents, that is your responsibility.
Right.
And that's something that we gave him for so long and - But I don't I don't hear you saying that - You know, all Hold on.
Hold on.
Go ahead.
I don't hear you saying that you're giving that to him now.
Maybe not now.
Yeah, maybe not lately.
Okay.
But by the same token, do I feel loved by him? Sure, but but you're the adult.
Yes.
And sometimes love is not a feeling but a choice.
- It's not a feeling.
- It obviously was a choice with us Because we chose to adopt him.
I feel like you're a little defensive right now.
- Maybe.
- Do you feel like I'm attacking you? - A little bit.
- Why? Because I have tried everything I know what to do with that kid.
I am telling you, as a 31-year-old version of Jacob, unconditional love and support is ultimately what did it.
That is crucial.
Mm-hmm.
Jacob right now is not surviving, so I don't know.
I'm willing to take a different tactic.
Look, it sounds like you guys are doing a nice job of laying down rules, being consistent.
That's not my concern.
My concern is the tender side.
My concern is filling him up a little more with that love, that support, that encouragement.
When your kid's going through a challenge, some parents try to become like police, like the jail warden All tough, no tender.
That doesn't work.
You have to be both, so for the next week, here is the one challenge I am gonna hold you guys to.
- Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
Five times a day intentional encouragement.
- Okay.
- This can be just a hug.
It can be a text message "Here are a few things about you that I really appreciate.
" But please do not make these "you're really great, but" Just understand that he's still gonna be whatever it is he's gonna be, but you're there for him, basically.
Yeah.
Particularly for adopted kids, foster kids, that's what we need.
- Okay.
- Okay.
All right.
So right after this, - I'll be spending some time with Jacob - Okay.
And then really, tomorrow, we get started.
Talk to you soon.
All right.
I'm very hopeful, but the back of my brain is saying, well You know, when something sounds too good to be true, usually it is.
You felt it was okay to rub dog (bleep) in your son's face? You're standing there, yelling at me that it's my (bleep) fault! So you're gonna walk away from this? Yes, I am gonna walk away from this! I'm on my way to meet Jacob for the first time.
Will his parents come around? I hope so, but he needs to assume they won't, so he needs to stop looking for them or for someone else to fix his life, to turn things around.
He needs to take responsibility for that.
Uh, you must be Jacob.
Yes.
Hi.
Josh Shipp.
- Hi, Josh.
- What's up, man? - Hey.
- That's cool.
I'll sit down.
So talk to me about why you think I'm here to work with you.
Because I'm making everyone's lives around me, like, terrible, and my family just wants me to get out of the house when I'm 18, and I don't want that.
Why not? Because I'm not ready for it.
I'm scared.
I'd fall into a bad place.
Yeah.
What do you want to do in the future, like a couple of years from now? - I want to start college.
- Yeah.
Go to auditions, try out for different parts.
Yeah.
And I always do want to be independent, but at the same time, I always want my parents to be there for me.
Yeah, so talk to me about your relationship with them.
My parents see me as a thief and a liar.
And that's not what I want them to see me as.
Who do you fight with the most? - My mom - Mm.
Which is bad because I love my mom.
My mom has protected me from my dad's rage.
Dad gets angry? - Yeah, my dad gets angry.
- Does he ever hit you? He's hit me with a belt.
Okay.
And one time I was sleeping, and my mom told me "walk the dog," and to be honest, I heard her - Mm-hmm.
- But I ignored her.
The dog pooped on the floor, and my dad grabbed the dog poop in a napkin.
He walks up to me, holds my chest, and rubs the (bleep) all over my face.
And I'm all pissed.
I'm I'm like, why the (bleep) did you rub (bleep) in my face?! And then I'm, like, really pissed off, but I actually called the police that day.
Not really funny.
It's kinda funny.
Well, I don't think so.
I think.
I'm not, like, picking on your parents.
I'm saying that's not right.
Do you feel like you deserve your parents' love? Sometimes.
Do you think your parents love you unconditionally? I-I do Sometimes, because I mean, my my parents also say that they hate me and "I wish I never adopted you," and just hurtful stuff.
I mean So how is that unconditional love? I mean, that's not unconditional love if they say those things to you.
- Well, parents always say that, though.
- I mean, do you No.
Actually, that's not true.
Parents say things that they regret.
Of course.
No parents are perfect.
Yeah.
And it's normal for parents to be frustrated at their kids.
Yeah.
But a fear I have for you is that perhaps you don't feel like you have unconditional support and encouragement.
When's the last time your parents said "I love you"? I don't know.
Because I've never heard my dad say he loves me.
Ever? Never.
It's funny, actually, 'cause I never thought about that.
I'm not trying to be weird or, like, mushy, but, like, you deserve that, dude.
I hope deep down you know that.
But it sucks when you don't hear it at home.
Tell you a bit about me, so you know.
My parents left me at the hospital when I was born, and I grew up in the foster care system.
I've been raped, abused, beaten up, suicidal.
You had some (bleep) stuff happen to you.
I've had some (bleep) stuff happen to me.
When we were babies not in our control.
At this point, you're 17 in your control.
That's what I want you to begin to think about.
You want to be a man? Take responsibility.
And you say you want to change? This week you prove it.
All right.
I'm gonna put you through hell this week, but I'm gonna be there every step of the way.
Will you trust me? I will trust you.
Why? Because I'm willing to try anything to Change.
All right, dude.
Tomorrow we get started.
Okay.
I'll see you tomorrow.
All right.
See you tomorrow.
Pleasure.
I'm pretty nervous.
I think I'm gonna be put on the spot for a lot of my crap, and that's actually a good thing.
Jacob told me his dad rubbed dog crap in his face, but Jacob has been known to lie, so I need to address this with his dad directly.
I mean, I-I know you're busy, but for this process - Yeah.
- There's a few things that I do want to talk to you about.
- Sure.
- Jacob told me something - Mm-hmm.
- That concerned me a bit.
Oh.
An incident involving dog crap Ah.
And you shoving that in his face.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That happened.
I came, uh, to wake him up and said, "hey, we have some things to do.
" I had to get to work.
I was nice the first three or four times.
And then finally, I just walked over and and did my thing.
And then you felt it was okay to rub dog (bleep) in your son's face? At that point, yeah.
You know, he was just blowing me off.
And you just kinda lost it.
Well, I don't say I'd lost it.
Well, you clearly weren't thinking logically, though.
I-I just had had it with him.
Have you ever apologized to him for that? Um, I would expect an apology from him first, because he drove me to that point.
- No.
No, no.
No.
Wait.
- Yeah.
No one ever forces you to rub dog (bleep) in your son's face.
- I was that late.
- It's ultimately not a justifiable excuse.
Okay.
Well, whatever.
You don't agree with that? Um, not only do I have the authority to do that, uh, he's aware now that I will do it under extreme circumstances when he doesn't listen to me.
- He will not respond to anything else.
- Do you think that's an appropriate discipline Yes or no? In an extreme situation, yes.
That's ridiculous.
Okay, well, that's your opinion.
That's this is my opinion.
To hear number one, "I probably should apologize, but he needs to apologize first" You're the adult.
That upsets me.
And secondly, for you to say, "yeah, and I would do it again if needed.
" No, he knows I would do it again.
That's insane! Whether I would do it again, that's another story.
That is not discipline.
It's abusive, truly.
When someone rubs dog crap in your face, that's the moment I stop listening to anything you have to say.
I just had no other recourse.
I completely disagree and I think that's sick.
Okay.
Okay.
Well I'm never gonna convince Jeffrey he's wrong.
I have to move on.
I have to keep my focus on Jacob.
It's ridiculous to get rid of that stuff.
Yeah.
Then why do you wanna get rid of your son? - Hey, guys.
- Hi, Josh.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
So what I'd like to do next with each parent that I work with is, uh, I like to excavate the teen's room.
Yeah.
You know, a teenager's environment tells me a lot and is really important to their development.
Okay.
- So I'll follow you.
- So Oh, my God.
This is my first time getting a good look inside this house.
This home is out of control, this family's out of control, and it didn't start yesterday.
Okay, so this is Jacob's room? This is where Jacob sleeps.
We couldn't put him a room 'cause he was stealing stuff and destroying stuff.
No, we had to put locks on doors.
Yeah, well, I think this is a good habit to get into.
You know, just knowing, you know, what, I anything, he's hiding here.
- All those sorts of things.
- Yeah.
Yeah, we just cleaned all that up today.
Holy smokes.
It's from the animals.
This is interesting.
Some random girl's number on the back of a beer box.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
All right.
That's just - Oh.
- Yeah, I mean, This just only encourages that sort of lifestyle.
- You don't want them.
- Drink bottles.
Yeah, this one smells like it's had alcohol in it.
Dog crap.
Okay.
Well, yeah, let me get rid of that for ya.
Yeah.
- Guess you can handle that.
- Yeah.
Obviously sexually active.
Smoking pot, as you know.
Right.
A lot of things are things that could greatly effect his life.
- I'm sorry, Josh - Yep.
Nope.
- But I have a play starting in ten minutes.
- Yeah, I understand.
- I have to be out of here.
Okay.
- I understand you need to go.
- Frankly, I'm having a little trouble breathing - Yeah.
So maybe we could step outside? Okay, well, talk to you later, Josh.
All right.
- Okay.
Sounds good.
- Okay.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know that you guys were gonna be in there or I would've dusted and vacuumed over there.
The fact of the matter is, is that, I mean, there is another issue going on in your home.
I'm not trying to be insensitive.
There's just so much clutter in the house.
Yeah.
I think environment matters.
I think even if your kids were angels, living in that situation would cause unecessary stress.
I have no place to put any of my stuff.
And so do you think maybe you keep the stuff 'cause that's the only thing you have control over? Pretty much.
Probably.
It's ridiculous to get rid of that stuff.
Yeah.
Hen why do you wanna get rid of your son? He's pushed me to the point, and it's just been piling up and piling up and piling up - and piling up and - Just like your house.
That's it.
No more.
No, this is where we need to be, right here.
No.
No.
Tell me what you're feeling.
- No.
I-I-I - Do you feel I'm attacking you, Not the situation? Huh! Obviously.
I could understand why you would feel that way.
If it's been said once, it's been said a million times to me that I'm responsible for their behavior, because I'm too frickin' lazy or I'm too this.
I just get up every morning and plow through the day the best way that I can.
If I had known how hard this was gonna be, I don't know if I would've adopted those kids.
I really don't know.
You got your pound of flesh.
No, wait, wait, wait.
Please don't quit on me.
Please don't walk away.
I need to walk away for a while.
When you were doing your excavating, you did the excavating on me Whether you realized it or not.
And what did I find? A bunch of hurt.
Joanne truly feels like no one understands what she's going through, which is, I mean, actually the exact way that Jacob feels, and they're both acting out in their own ways.
Hey.
What's up, Josh? Good morning, buddy.
- Good morning, man.
- How you doing? A lot of the choices that Jacob's making, he just feels like, "what's the big deal?" But I wanted Jacob to come face-to-face with the facts of where his choices could lead.
Hey, Darren.
How you doing? - Hey, Josh.
Good to see you.
Yep.
- Good to see ya.
This is Jacob, who I was telling you about.
- Hi.
- Jacob.
Hey, grab a seat, man.
So I'm gonna leave you with Darren here.
This is Darren kavinoky.
He's a former punk-ass kid Turned into one of the top defense attorneys in the entire state of California.
- So I'll wait outside.
- All right.
Thanks, Darren.
Well, Jacob, it's good to be meeting you.
I wish it was under different circumstances.
Yeah.
I've actually been there, done that in terms of a lot of the stuff that's going on with you now.
And now in my life, I represent people who are accused of doing all sorts of criminal stuff.
And my hope for you is that I don't have to go down that path with you.
I don't want to end up in a prison cell.
I want a good life.
W-what do you wanna do with yourself? What do you want for your life? I wanna be an actor, go to college.
Yeah, where do you want to go? What's your what's your dream school? - Maybe U.
C.
L.
A.
Yeah.
- U.
C.
L.
A.
? Yeah.
From what I understand, you've been involved - in stealing stuff.
Right? - Yes.
When you get arrested for stealing something, you know what happens to possibility of U.
C.
L.
A.
, right? It goes away.
It's gone.
Well the little stuff like shoplifting from stores, that's the thing.
Like, I know it's bad 'cause it's still shoplifting.
It's still stealing.
But I'm just 17 right now, and Like, what can they do, you know? At 17 years old, you can still be brought into adult court.
Petty theft itself can be a misdemeanor.
If you get caught again, petty theft with a prior is a felony.
Also, we live in California, home of the three strikes law.
- Oh, yeah.
- Right? Your third strike doesn't have to be any kind of a serious or voilent felony.
It can be any felony.
We have people in California prisons that are doing a stretch of 25 to life.
One guy stole a shaving kit out of a kmart.
He's doing 25 to life.
Another homeless guy hungry, took a slice of pizza.
That guy is going to die in prison.
Petty theft isn't always just petty theft.
If some security guard tries to grab you when you're leaving and you just pull away from him, that's no longer a petty theft.
That's robbery and can land you in state prison for years.
I don't want to go to prison.
I already know I-I don't.
Yeah, you don't seem like the kind of guy that would do terribly well there.
I do so much stupid stuff in the moment, and I can look back at it and know that it's wrong and know I could regret it, but it's already too late.
I don't know how to stop it.
I-I just don't know how.
Well, there's some people right around you now that have some some good suggestions for you.
But if you go down the path that you've been going down, I might be seeing you in a different context picking up a phone as you're on one side of the jail cell and I'm on the other.
I am tired of the (bleep) blame! I wanna go home! - I wanna go home.
- Why are you running away from your son? Why don't you just shut up?! Since I've met you, the both of you have been talking about counting down the days till you're able to kick Jacob out.
- Uh-huh.
- And the truth is, 50% of adopted kids that get kicked out end up on the streets.
- This is where he will end up.
- Yes.
Steve, what's up, man? - How's it going, man? Doing good.
- How you doing? This is Jacob, who I was telling you about.
- Okay.
- These are his parents.
I want both Jacob and his parents to get a sense of what living on the streets is like.
These guys, they are not actors.
This is not a setup.
These guys live out here.
- This is their home.
- This is our life.
I've seen people get jumped.
I have seen my best friend stabbed.
This is not the valley.
This is not the suburbs.
This area has been nicknamed "Hollywood skid row.
" You ever heard of skid row? Yeah.
Skid row most cops won't walk down there.
This place isn't no good at all.
Stay with your mom and pops.
Three meals a day, shower every night beats this.
This is a (bleep).
You don't This this is a place that no one deserves to be.
This is not what you want, dude, but this is where you're headed if you don't change.
For real.
I mean, Joanne, do you get that I've gotten it a long time ago.
That if he's not prepared, and you kick him out, this is where he could end up? It is your job to prepare him.
You know, Josh, let me tell you something.
It is my job to prepare him, but if he does all this (bleep), I can't do anything to him.
I can't even keep him in the (bleep) house.
I understand that these guys have had a hard time, but.
.
- But I feel like you don't get Jacob could end up here! - I have no - I feel like you're you're looking around - Well, you know what? It'll be his choice! It would be his choice to be here.
But it would also be your fault partially.
Do not run away from this.
I'm tired I am tired of the (bleep) blame! I told you, I am tired of the blame! - You said that - How about being tired of what Jacob's going through? - And I'm sitting here - And everything I hear from you is "me, me, me, me, me," Instead of "Jacob.
" You have no idea what the crap that he's put me through.
I can't get through to him.
I can't do anything.
Yes, Jacob is making his choices, but what about you? You have not prepared him! See? That's what it comes down to.
- What? - It's my fault.
You're standing there, yelling at me that it's my (beep) fault that he's doing the drugs, that he's making the choices! I wanna go home.
- I'm done.
I wanna go home.
- Why are you running away from your son? Why are you running away from where he's gonna end up? Why don't you just shut up?! I am tired of "why? Why? Why?" You come in here with two days.
- You have no - I'm coming here to help Jacob! Well, good! Help Jacob! - Don't stand there and blame me! - You are part of solution! Give me a solution, and I'll work on it.
But so far, you haven't given me any solutions.
Okay? That's all I've been hearing from you.
"Why are you so defensive?" Why I'm defensive when somebody comes in and accuses me of (bleep).
So you're gonna walk away from this? Yes, I am gonna walk away from this.
You're (bleep) right, I'm gonna walk away from this.
Jacob is facing it.
Good! Let Jacob face it! Will you will you face it with him? I am not gonna face it with him with a bunch of people standing around, telling me it's my fault! Here's what I can promise you.
What? I have a plan for Jacob.
I genuinely want to help him.
I want you to be a part of that process.
- If I if I made you feel upset - But part of the process was - To embarrass me in front of all those people? - N! No, no, no, no, no! It was! I voluntarily went into this.
I didn't give birth to this child and screw him up from the beginning.
I got a package, and every day, I have been dealing with that package.
What else do I have to do? Please, trust me.
All I'm asking, let's go do this.
We have tomorrow.
You you can hate me.
You can dislike me.
I'll I'll be gone in two days.
You can be done with me if this doesn't work.
Go with me.
This won't take long.
Let's go.
But just keep me out of it.
- Thank you.
- Have a good day.
What do you say? - Thank you.
- You're very welcome.
It's either that or we pick somethin' out of the garbage.
What do you think? This is not where you wanna be, huh? You know, at first, I wasn't on the streets.
I was staying at different different homeless programs - Mm-hmm.
- Or whatever.
Somehow I got I got stuck out here.
This this isn't what I want, and I know this is where I'm heading if I keep doing with my (bleep).
I-I-I knew it before I came here, but I didn't get a I didn't see it.
Just know that whatever happens, you are the captain of your destiny, as they say.
You gotta take some responsibility for something.
Ronnie and all of them, they blame themselves for being out there.
They knew it was their choice.
They didn't blame their mothers or whoever was taking care of them at that time, and that that just shocked me.
I'm considered a lucky person, okay? Because I have a cart with a lot of stuff.
All right? And I'm-a show you what I do to sleep.
There it is.
I mean, that's my bed right there.
Jacob, why don't you give it a try? Make sure you don't roll over on a piece of glass right there, too.
Lay down all the way.
- Jacob, you gotta lay down, dude.
- Yeah, lay all the way down.
You need to you need to feel this.
- Fight fight it.
- You don't want this.
Lay all the way down.
No offense to you guys, but I'm (bleep) scared.
Hey, you wanna know something? I don't take offense to that at all.
And I'm thoroughly happy you said that.
I cannot believe what they have to go through, and nothing is worth this.
The fact that Jacob could end up in a situation like this was definitely an eye-opener.
No parent would want that for their their child.
I love you, too, honey.
These were honest, genuine emotions.
This is the old Jacob.
This is the kid that I remember.
This is the kid I kept hoping would come out.
I think the door that was going to be slammed in Jacob's face is slowly starting to open.
Would you take the opportunity to look at your son and express that you love him? Joanne and Jeffrey had a major breakthrough yesterday.
They realized their son needs their help to move forward.
So this summit is gonna be all about how they can help prepare Jacob for his future.
All right, guys, well, we've had certainly a-a great week.
We've made a lot of progress, been through a lot of experiences.
Uh, Jacob, I'm very proud of the progress that you've made.
But this is not the finish line.
To me, this is truly the start line.
So first what I wanna do is start with the two of you.
Is there anything that you would like to apologize for or any wrong that you'd like to make right? Yes.
I'm sorry for the times that maybe I should've had a little more patience with you.
I was just at a total loss, so when at a total loss, I yell.
So for that, I'm sorry.
Do you forgive her? I do.
I forgive you, mom.
One of the things that Jacob feels like he needs from you as his father is sort of expressing love more directly - Mm-hmm.
Right.
- And specifically.
And would you perhaps like the opportunity to look at your son and express that you love him? I do love you.
Absolutely.
We do love you, both of us.
You know, it comes hard for me to say things like that, but it's very appropriate now.
However we express love to our children, sometimes we forget to say it, and, again, that I'm sorry about.
Jacob, talk to your parents about how you intend to honor them.
I'm not gonna be doing marijuana.
In my mind, I thought I needed it, but I didn't need it.
- And - How else do you intend to honor your parents? I'm gonna stop this constant stealing.
- What's a family without trust? - Right.
And what's a family when they have to lock everything up? - Right.
So let me just tell you, you don't have to be worrying.
As far as I'm concerned, this is a clean slate at this point.
I'm willing to forget whatever, just move forward.
And so what's your hope for your son? I'm hoping he's reaching that potential that we see for him, whether he goes into acting or whatever it is that he does in life.
How how do the two of you commit to helping him do such? We hope to keep him in our house and help him financially.
You know, as long as we don't feel like we're living with a criminal or something.
All right.
And I'm willing to commit to a clean slate as well.
Okay? All right.
I'm very proud of Jacob for deciding to get serious about changing his life.
But to be honest, his parents' change of heart was really sort of surprising to me.
I don't want to be skeptical but I am.
I certainly hope that it was true and genuine for them, but only time will tell.
So what I wanna do right now is talk to you about the next part of this process.
I have an opportunity for you, and what it is is something called the outback therapeutic expedtiion.
This is Utah, a 90-day program out in the wilderness.
The really cool thing about this is that they engage you in helping you recreate your life, redefining your life.
You know, this was the old Jacob.
Now what does the new Jacob look like? It It sounds beautiful.
I know how much you enjoy acting.
Yeah.
And when you graduate this program, I wanna honor that commitment by sending you to the academy of dramatic arts young actors camp.
What?! Wait.
What did you just say? How's that feel? - Really.
- Oh! Dude, when you're doing what you love, it will give you a reason to not do bad things because you don't want to blow what you have going for you.
- It's unbelievable.
- What do you think? Can I hug you right now? Come on.
Come on.
- Can I hug you right now? - Come on.
Josh, you have no idea how thankful I am.
I'm not thankful for the way you treated me But I'm thankful for what you've done for my son.
You think you lose your son, and, uh, this is just such a bright light and such a possible, uh It's just unbelievable.
I will not screw this one up.
- Well, enjoy your - Or else I'm gonna be out on the street.
I'm sure you're gonna make some mistakes, so don't, you know No, I'm gonna be I'm gonna screw up sometimes.
Yeah.
- No, I'm not I'm not a perfect guy.
- Yeah.
I don't know what the future has in store for me, but it's gonna be something good.
It's not gonna be me in the jail cell.
It's gonna be me out in the streets.
I feel like this is a true new beginning for me, and I'm just so grateful for it.
You want to be a man? Take responsibility.
I'm Josh Shipp.
When a teen is out of control I don't want you here when you're stoned.
And the parents are out of options - It doesn't matter! - You idiot! I get the call.
Tonight on "Teen Trouble" You no idea of the crap that he's put me through.
I've only got one shot to save 17 year old Jacob.
My mind is messed up.
I really don't care.
I just want him out of my life.
You felt it was okay to rub dog (bleep) in your son's face? When's the last time your parents said "I love you"? This is not the suburbs.
People out here are ruthless.
- Jacob could end up here.
- It would be his choice! Why are you running away from your son? Why don't you just shut up?! I know what it means to be a teen in trouble.
I was one Abandoned, abused, addicted but I beat the odds.
I'm a teen behavior specialist.
My approach is gritty, gutsy You can lie to everyone else.
You will not lie to me.
And in your face.
You're acting like a spoiled brat.
It's ridiculous.
My mission is to wake these teens and their parents up Here's a condom.
Here we have a beer can.
Before it's too late.
I'll be damned if I'm gonna let you throw away your life.
This week, I'm in Los Angeles, California, where 17 year old Jacob is lying You gave somebody our house key? - I talked to mom about it.
- Liar.
He cannot tell the truth to save his soul.
- Stealing - There's only one person in this house who steals, And that's you, Jacob.
Ugh! And smoking a massive amount of dope.
When I'm on marijuana, I go a little crazy.
The manager thinks I did this.
The manager thinks I did this.
His parents are convinced there's no hope.
The day he turns 18, he's out of here.
When I was 16, I started smoking weed and drinking.
It became a daily thing.
My parents are sick of it.
Jacob, I'm asking you to leave.
I don't want you here when you're stoned.
Jacob, I don't need to have you here while you are stoned.
I'm not even stoned right now.
It's just my eyes are red.
Fine.
Get out of the house.
I don't have to put up with this.
I just can't put up with this anymore.
This happens all the time because I keep on being stoned and People don't look at him and say he's a bad kid.
No, they look at me and say I'm a bad parent.
Jacob's totally unable to be controlled in any way because of the uh, uh, marijuana.
If he comes home stoned, we tell him "there's a 10:00 curfew.
"You don't come into the house until that curfew occurs.
"You can sleep here and that's about it, as long as you're stoned.
" The reason I smoke is because I get high You know, Jacob, you swear up and down you didn't take any money from my purse.
I stole so many things I can't even remember all of them.
Like, you took it, didn't you? Nothing is safe in the house.
In the last three months, he has stolen probably $250 to $400 from me.
I mean, I hang my purse in my bedroom and you still take money out of it? You idiot! I've had the police at my house at least ten times.
Ma, can you just open the door, please? I'm just tired of it.
I just don't want anything to do with him anymore.
Dad, can you do me a favor and tell mom to please let me in? We're feeling very helpless right now.
We've taken away just about everything we can think of to take away from him, and none of it has any effect.
I don't want to steal, to lie, to do marijuana.
I have problems.
I came to America with problems.
When Jacob was 5, we adopted him and his brothers and sisters from Kazakhstan.
Hello, America.
This whole class of little 5 year olds had these Fluffy coats on.
They looked like little Teddy bears.
And they gave Jacob to me, and the other little kids were holding up their arms And going, "mama.
Mama.
Mama.
" I could've taken every single one of them home.
Hey, mama, you wanna Look how many children I got.
I know.
I'm looking.
We came for 3 and got 20.
When they told the staff that Jacob had been adopted by an American family, they said, "oh, my goodness.
I hope they don't want to send him back because he's so wild.
" He, apparently, gave the staff a run for their money.
When we got back to America, we went to the zoo, we went to Disneyland.
I didn't realize how much fun it was going to be.
Jacob's very outgoing.
He's very funny, very charming, and he's so damn cute.
He's always wanted to be an actor.
I was in "Pinocchio" at the children's theater.
Even though I got only one line, I still took it to heart.
- My one line was - "Duh!" But I did it pretty well.
When Jacob was 15, he had this relationship with a girl who was three years older than him.
It was my first experience with a woman.
She kept asking me to sneak out to see her, to sleep over, and then she asked if I wanted to drink alcohol.
Jacob was prenatally exposed to alcohol, so when he has drugs or alcohol, his brain just goes off into a tizzy.
When I get high, I feel it ten times more because my mom was an alcoholic.
I don't want to be using marijuana, but I can't stop.
I-I can't control myself.
You are 17 years old.
When someone offers me something, I can't help but to say "yes" in that moment.
I use marijuana to take away the pain that I have inside of me, but it's destroying me.
Don't bother coming home stoned and don't bother coming home after 10:00.
I remember the good times and what that little kid was really like.
What he is today I don't know this kid at all.
I am lost.
I am lost.
After all I've been through, my mind is messed up.
I really don't care.
I just want him out of my life at this point.
I'm counting down till the day he's 18, and and that's the end of my association with him.
I am right outside of Los Angeles.
I'm here to work with 17 year old Jacob.
He's facing enormous challenges with his abandonment issues and fetal alcohol syndrome.
Everything I can gather about Jacob's parents is that they're just frustrated, upset, exhausted.
And so I'm gonna meet with them first.
Normally, I would meet them at home, but from the footage I've seen, their house looks like an episode of "hoarders.
" Essentially, like, if we were to meet at the house, that would just be one big distraction.
And with so little time, I've got to pick my battles and keep the focus on Jacob.
I'm worried that maybe they've washed their hands of him a year ago and I'm just here too late.
Hey, guys.
You must be Joanne.
- I am Joanne.
- Josh Shipp.
How do you do? - Hi.
Nice to meet you.
- Jeff? - Yeah.
Nice to meet.
You.
- Pleasure.
- Yeah.
- How are you How are you feeling? A little nervous.
Why? I'm hoping that you can help Jacob, but I don't know if you can help him.
Mm-hmm.
What do you hope for Jacob? What would be the ideal result? You know, uh, he could be a productive person if he could not drive the family crazy, because right now, nobody in the family really wants him there.
My goal for him is to want him back in the house - Mm.
Right.
- On September 6th.
You guys have that date down very specific.
- It's his 18th birthday.
- Birthday.
Right.
And I'm marking the calendar right now.
Yeah, it's to that point.
- Really? - Yeah.
- Yeah, I hope.
- I don't think that's funny.
No, it's not.
Hopefully that will change, but Right now, that's the way it is.
- You guys are just fed up, exhausted - Yeah.
- Worn down.
- Right.
- We wouldn't mind him staying in the house - Mm-hmm.
Being a part of the family, uh, if he could control some of his choices.
Well, here's one thing that I know that's bottom-line Uh-huh.
Teenagers need unconditional love in order to thrive.
As his parents, that is your responsibility.
Right.
And that's something that we gave him for so long and - But I don't I don't hear you saying that - You know, all Hold on.
Hold on.
Go ahead.
I don't hear you saying that you're giving that to him now.
Maybe not now.
Yeah, maybe not lately.
Okay.
But by the same token, do I feel loved by him? Sure, but but you're the adult.
Yes.
And sometimes love is not a feeling but a choice.
- It's not a feeling.
- It obviously was a choice with us Because we chose to adopt him.
I feel like you're a little defensive right now.
- Maybe.
- Do you feel like I'm attacking you? - A little bit.
- Why? Because I have tried everything I know what to do with that kid.
I am telling you, as a 31-year-old version of Jacob, unconditional love and support is ultimately what did it.
That is crucial.
Mm-hmm.
Jacob right now is not surviving, so I don't know.
I'm willing to take a different tactic.
Look, it sounds like you guys are doing a nice job of laying down rules, being consistent.
That's not my concern.
My concern is the tender side.
My concern is filling him up a little more with that love, that support, that encouragement.
When your kid's going through a challenge, some parents try to become like police, like the jail warden All tough, no tender.
That doesn't work.
You have to be both, so for the next week, here is the one challenge I am gonna hold you guys to.
- Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
Five times a day intentional encouragement.
- Okay.
- This can be just a hug.
It can be a text message "Here are a few things about you that I really appreciate.
" But please do not make these "you're really great, but" Just understand that he's still gonna be whatever it is he's gonna be, but you're there for him, basically.
Yeah.
Particularly for adopted kids, foster kids, that's what we need.
- Okay.
- Okay.
All right.
So right after this, - I'll be spending some time with Jacob - Okay.
And then really, tomorrow, we get started.
Talk to you soon.
All right.
I'm very hopeful, but the back of my brain is saying, well You know, when something sounds too good to be true, usually it is.
You felt it was okay to rub dog (bleep) in your son's face? You're standing there, yelling at me that it's my (bleep) fault! So you're gonna walk away from this? Yes, I am gonna walk away from this! I'm on my way to meet Jacob for the first time.
Will his parents come around? I hope so, but he needs to assume they won't, so he needs to stop looking for them or for someone else to fix his life, to turn things around.
He needs to take responsibility for that.
Uh, you must be Jacob.
Yes.
Hi.
Josh Shipp.
- Hi, Josh.
- What's up, man? - Hey.
- That's cool.
I'll sit down.
So talk to me about why you think I'm here to work with you.
Because I'm making everyone's lives around me, like, terrible, and my family just wants me to get out of the house when I'm 18, and I don't want that.
Why not? Because I'm not ready for it.
I'm scared.
I'd fall into a bad place.
Yeah.
What do you want to do in the future, like a couple of years from now? - I want to start college.
- Yeah.
Go to auditions, try out for different parts.
Yeah.
And I always do want to be independent, but at the same time, I always want my parents to be there for me.
Yeah, so talk to me about your relationship with them.
My parents see me as a thief and a liar.
And that's not what I want them to see me as.
Who do you fight with the most? - My mom - Mm.
Which is bad because I love my mom.
My mom has protected me from my dad's rage.
Dad gets angry? - Yeah, my dad gets angry.
- Does he ever hit you? He's hit me with a belt.
Okay.
And one time I was sleeping, and my mom told me "walk the dog," and to be honest, I heard her - Mm-hmm.
- But I ignored her.
The dog pooped on the floor, and my dad grabbed the dog poop in a napkin.
He walks up to me, holds my chest, and rubs the (bleep) all over my face.
And I'm all pissed.
I'm I'm like, why the (bleep) did you rub (bleep) in my face?! And then I'm, like, really pissed off, but I actually called the police that day.
Not really funny.
It's kinda funny.
Well, I don't think so.
I think.
I'm not, like, picking on your parents.
I'm saying that's not right.
Do you feel like you deserve your parents' love? Sometimes.
Do you think your parents love you unconditionally? I-I do Sometimes, because I mean, my my parents also say that they hate me and "I wish I never adopted you," and just hurtful stuff.
I mean So how is that unconditional love? I mean, that's not unconditional love if they say those things to you.
- Well, parents always say that, though.
- I mean, do you No.
Actually, that's not true.
Parents say things that they regret.
Of course.
No parents are perfect.
Yeah.
And it's normal for parents to be frustrated at their kids.
Yeah.
But a fear I have for you is that perhaps you don't feel like you have unconditional support and encouragement.
When's the last time your parents said "I love you"? I don't know.
Because I've never heard my dad say he loves me.
Ever? Never.
It's funny, actually, 'cause I never thought about that.
I'm not trying to be weird or, like, mushy, but, like, you deserve that, dude.
I hope deep down you know that.
But it sucks when you don't hear it at home.
Tell you a bit about me, so you know.
My parents left me at the hospital when I was born, and I grew up in the foster care system.
I've been raped, abused, beaten up, suicidal.
You had some (bleep) stuff happen to you.
I've had some (bleep) stuff happen to me.
When we were babies not in our control.
At this point, you're 17 in your control.
That's what I want you to begin to think about.
You want to be a man? Take responsibility.
And you say you want to change? This week you prove it.
All right.
I'm gonna put you through hell this week, but I'm gonna be there every step of the way.
Will you trust me? I will trust you.
Why? Because I'm willing to try anything to Change.
All right, dude.
Tomorrow we get started.
Okay.
I'll see you tomorrow.
All right.
See you tomorrow.
Pleasure.
I'm pretty nervous.
I think I'm gonna be put on the spot for a lot of my crap, and that's actually a good thing.
Jacob told me his dad rubbed dog crap in his face, but Jacob has been known to lie, so I need to address this with his dad directly.
I mean, I-I know you're busy, but for this process - Yeah.
- There's a few things that I do want to talk to you about.
- Sure.
- Jacob told me something - Mm-hmm.
- That concerned me a bit.
Oh.
An incident involving dog crap Ah.
And you shoving that in his face.
Yeah.
Yeah.
That happened.
I came, uh, to wake him up and said, "hey, we have some things to do.
" I had to get to work.
I was nice the first three or four times.
And then finally, I just walked over and and did my thing.
And then you felt it was okay to rub dog (bleep) in your son's face? At that point, yeah.
You know, he was just blowing me off.
And you just kinda lost it.
Well, I don't say I'd lost it.
Well, you clearly weren't thinking logically, though.
I-I just had had it with him.
Have you ever apologized to him for that? Um, I would expect an apology from him first, because he drove me to that point.
- No.
No, no.
No.
Wait.
- Yeah.
No one ever forces you to rub dog (bleep) in your son's face.
- I was that late.
- It's ultimately not a justifiable excuse.
Okay.
Well, whatever.
You don't agree with that? Um, not only do I have the authority to do that, uh, he's aware now that I will do it under extreme circumstances when he doesn't listen to me.
- He will not respond to anything else.
- Do you think that's an appropriate discipline Yes or no? In an extreme situation, yes.
That's ridiculous.
Okay, well, that's your opinion.
That's this is my opinion.
To hear number one, "I probably should apologize, but he needs to apologize first" You're the adult.
That upsets me.
And secondly, for you to say, "yeah, and I would do it again if needed.
" No, he knows I would do it again.
That's insane! Whether I would do it again, that's another story.
That is not discipline.
It's abusive, truly.
When someone rubs dog crap in your face, that's the moment I stop listening to anything you have to say.
I just had no other recourse.
I completely disagree and I think that's sick.
Okay.
Okay.
Well I'm never gonna convince Jeffrey he's wrong.
I have to move on.
I have to keep my focus on Jacob.
It's ridiculous to get rid of that stuff.
Yeah.
Then why do you wanna get rid of your son? - Hey, guys.
- Hi, Josh.
- Good morning.
- Good morning.
So what I'd like to do next with each parent that I work with is, uh, I like to excavate the teen's room.
Yeah.
You know, a teenager's environment tells me a lot and is really important to their development.
Okay.
- So I'll follow you.
- So Oh, my God.
This is my first time getting a good look inside this house.
This home is out of control, this family's out of control, and it didn't start yesterday.
Okay, so this is Jacob's room? This is where Jacob sleeps.
We couldn't put him a room 'cause he was stealing stuff and destroying stuff.
No, we had to put locks on doors.
Yeah, well, I think this is a good habit to get into.
You know, just knowing, you know, what, I anything, he's hiding here.
- All those sorts of things.
- Yeah.
Yeah, we just cleaned all that up today.
Holy smokes.
It's from the animals.
This is interesting.
Some random girl's number on the back of a beer box.
Mm-hmm.
Yeah.
All right.
That's just - Oh.
- Yeah, I mean, This just only encourages that sort of lifestyle.
- You don't want them.
- Drink bottles.
Yeah, this one smells like it's had alcohol in it.
Dog crap.
Okay.
Well, yeah, let me get rid of that for ya.
Yeah.
- Guess you can handle that.
- Yeah.
Obviously sexually active.
Smoking pot, as you know.
Right.
A lot of things are things that could greatly effect his life.
- I'm sorry, Josh - Yep.
Nope.
- But I have a play starting in ten minutes.
- Yeah, I understand.
- I have to be out of here.
Okay.
- I understand you need to go.
- Frankly, I'm having a little trouble breathing - Yeah.
So maybe we could step outside? Okay, well, talk to you later, Josh.
All right.
- Okay.
Sounds good.
- Okay.
I'm sorry.
I didn't know that you guys were gonna be in there or I would've dusted and vacuumed over there.
The fact of the matter is, is that, I mean, there is another issue going on in your home.
I'm not trying to be insensitive.
There's just so much clutter in the house.
Yeah.
I think environment matters.
I think even if your kids were angels, living in that situation would cause unecessary stress.
I have no place to put any of my stuff.
And so do you think maybe you keep the stuff 'cause that's the only thing you have control over? Pretty much.
Probably.
It's ridiculous to get rid of that stuff.
Yeah.
Hen why do you wanna get rid of your son? He's pushed me to the point, and it's just been piling up and piling up and piling up - and piling up and - Just like your house.
That's it.
No more.
No, this is where we need to be, right here.
No.
No.
Tell me what you're feeling.
- No.
I-I-I - Do you feel I'm attacking you, Not the situation? Huh! Obviously.
I could understand why you would feel that way.
If it's been said once, it's been said a million times to me that I'm responsible for their behavior, because I'm too frickin' lazy or I'm too this.
I just get up every morning and plow through the day the best way that I can.
If I had known how hard this was gonna be, I don't know if I would've adopted those kids.
I really don't know.
You got your pound of flesh.
No, wait, wait, wait.
Please don't quit on me.
Please don't walk away.
I need to walk away for a while.
When you were doing your excavating, you did the excavating on me Whether you realized it or not.
And what did I find? A bunch of hurt.
Joanne truly feels like no one understands what she's going through, which is, I mean, actually the exact way that Jacob feels, and they're both acting out in their own ways.
Hey.
What's up, Josh? Good morning, buddy.
- Good morning, man.
- How you doing? A lot of the choices that Jacob's making, he just feels like, "what's the big deal?" But I wanted Jacob to come face-to-face with the facts of where his choices could lead.
Hey, Darren.
How you doing? - Hey, Josh.
Good to see you.
Yep.
- Good to see ya.
This is Jacob, who I was telling you about.
- Hi.
- Jacob.
Hey, grab a seat, man.
So I'm gonna leave you with Darren here.
This is Darren kavinoky.
He's a former punk-ass kid Turned into one of the top defense attorneys in the entire state of California.
- So I'll wait outside.
- All right.
Thanks, Darren.
Well, Jacob, it's good to be meeting you.
I wish it was under different circumstances.
Yeah.
I've actually been there, done that in terms of a lot of the stuff that's going on with you now.
And now in my life, I represent people who are accused of doing all sorts of criminal stuff.
And my hope for you is that I don't have to go down that path with you.
I don't want to end up in a prison cell.
I want a good life.
W-what do you wanna do with yourself? What do you want for your life? I wanna be an actor, go to college.
Yeah, where do you want to go? What's your what's your dream school? - Maybe U.
C.
L.
A.
Yeah.
- U.
C.
L.
A.
? Yeah.
From what I understand, you've been involved - in stealing stuff.
Right? - Yes.
When you get arrested for stealing something, you know what happens to possibility of U.
C.
L.
A.
, right? It goes away.
It's gone.
Well the little stuff like shoplifting from stores, that's the thing.
Like, I know it's bad 'cause it's still shoplifting.
It's still stealing.
But I'm just 17 right now, and Like, what can they do, you know? At 17 years old, you can still be brought into adult court.
Petty theft itself can be a misdemeanor.
If you get caught again, petty theft with a prior is a felony.
Also, we live in California, home of the three strikes law.
- Oh, yeah.
- Right? Your third strike doesn't have to be any kind of a serious or voilent felony.
It can be any felony.
We have people in California prisons that are doing a stretch of 25 to life.
One guy stole a shaving kit out of a kmart.
He's doing 25 to life.
Another homeless guy hungry, took a slice of pizza.
That guy is going to die in prison.
Petty theft isn't always just petty theft.
If some security guard tries to grab you when you're leaving and you just pull away from him, that's no longer a petty theft.
That's robbery and can land you in state prison for years.
I don't want to go to prison.
I already know I-I don't.
Yeah, you don't seem like the kind of guy that would do terribly well there.
I do so much stupid stuff in the moment, and I can look back at it and know that it's wrong and know I could regret it, but it's already too late.
I don't know how to stop it.
I-I just don't know how.
Well, there's some people right around you now that have some some good suggestions for you.
But if you go down the path that you've been going down, I might be seeing you in a different context picking up a phone as you're on one side of the jail cell and I'm on the other.
I am tired of the (bleep) blame! I wanna go home! - I wanna go home.
- Why are you running away from your son? Why don't you just shut up?! Since I've met you, the both of you have been talking about counting down the days till you're able to kick Jacob out.
- Uh-huh.
- And the truth is, 50% of adopted kids that get kicked out end up on the streets.
- This is where he will end up.
- Yes.
Steve, what's up, man? - How's it going, man? Doing good.
- How you doing? This is Jacob, who I was telling you about.
- Okay.
- These are his parents.
I want both Jacob and his parents to get a sense of what living on the streets is like.
These guys, they are not actors.
This is not a setup.
These guys live out here.
- This is their home.
- This is our life.
I've seen people get jumped.
I have seen my best friend stabbed.
This is not the valley.
This is not the suburbs.
This area has been nicknamed "Hollywood skid row.
" You ever heard of skid row? Yeah.
Skid row most cops won't walk down there.
This place isn't no good at all.
Stay with your mom and pops.
Three meals a day, shower every night beats this.
This is a (bleep).
You don't This this is a place that no one deserves to be.
This is not what you want, dude, but this is where you're headed if you don't change.
For real.
I mean, Joanne, do you get that I've gotten it a long time ago.
That if he's not prepared, and you kick him out, this is where he could end up? It is your job to prepare him.
You know, Josh, let me tell you something.
It is my job to prepare him, but if he does all this (bleep), I can't do anything to him.
I can't even keep him in the (bleep) house.
I understand that these guys have had a hard time, but.
.
- But I feel like you don't get Jacob could end up here! - I have no - I feel like you're you're looking around - Well, you know what? It'll be his choice! It would be his choice to be here.
But it would also be your fault partially.
Do not run away from this.
I'm tired I am tired of the (bleep) blame! I told you, I am tired of the blame! - You said that - How about being tired of what Jacob's going through? - And I'm sitting here - And everything I hear from you is "me, me, me, me, me," Instead of "Jacob.
" You have no idea what the crap that he's put me through.
I can't get through to him.
I can't do anything.
Yes, Jacob is making his choices, but what about you? You have not prepared him! See? That's what it comes down to.
- What? - It's my fault.
You're standing there, yelling at me that it's my (beep) fault that he's doing the drugs, that he's making the choices! I wanna go home.
- I'm done.
I wanna go home.
- Why are you running away from your son? Why are you running away from where he's gonna end up? Why don't you just shut up?! I am tired of "why? Why? Why?" You come in here with two days.
- You have no - I'm coming here to help Jacob! Well, good! Help Jacob! - Don't stand there and blame me! - You are part of solution! Give me a solution, and I'll work on it.
But so far, you haven't given me any solutions.
Okay? That's all I've been hearing from you.
"Why are you so defensive?" Why I'm defensive when somebody comes in and accuses me of (bleep).
So you're gonna walk away from this? Yes, I am gonna walk away from this.
You're (bleep) right, I'm gonna walk away from this.
Jacob is facing it.
Good! Let Jacob face it! Will you will you face it with him? I am not gonna face it with him with a bunch of people standing around, telling me it's my fault! Here's what I can promise you.
What? I have a plan for Jacob.
I genuinely want to help him.
I want you to be a part of that process.
- If I if I made you feel upset - But part of the process was - To embarrass me in front of all those people? - N! No, no, no, no, no! It was! I voluntarily went into this.
I didn't give birth to this child and screw him up from the beginning.
I got a package, and every day, I have been dealing with that package.
What else do I have to do? Please, trust me.
All I'm asking, let's go do this.
We have tomorrow.
You you can hate me.
You can dislike me.
I'll I'll be gone in two days.
You can be done with me if this doesn't work.
Go with me.
This won't take long.
Let's go.
But just keep me out of it.
- Thank you.
- Have a good day.
What do you say? - Thank you.
- You're very welcome.
It's either that or we pick somethin' out of the garbage.
What do you think? This is not where you wanna be, huh? You know, at first, I wasn't on the streets.
I was staying at different different homeless programs - Mm-hmm.
- Or whatever.
Somehow I got I got stuck out here.
This this isn't what I want, and I know this is where I'm heading if I keep doing with my (bleep).
I-I-I knew it before I came here, but I didn't get a I didn't see it.
Just know that whatever happens, you are the captain of your destiny, as they say.
You gotta take some responsibility for something.
Ronnie and all of them, they blame themselves for being out there.
They knew it was their choice.
They didn't blame their mothers or whoever was taking care of them at that time, and that that just shocked me.
I'm considered a lucky person, okay? Because I have a cart with a lot of stuff.
All right? And I'm-a show you what I do to sleep.
There it is.
I mean, that's my bed right there.
Jacob, why don't you give it a try? Make sure you don't roll over on a piece of glass right there, too.
Lay down all the way.
- Jacob, you gotta lay down, dude.
- Yeah, lay all the way down.
You need to you need to feel this.
- Fight fight it.
- You don't want this.
Lay all the way down.
No offense to you guys, but I'm (bleep) scared.
Hey, you wanna know something? I don't take offense to that at all.
And I'm thoroughly happy you said that.
I cannot believe what they have to go through, and nothing is worth this.
The fact that Jacob could end up in a situation like this was definitely an eye-opener.
No parent would want that for their their child.
I love you, too, honey.
These were honest, genuine emotions.
This is the old Jacob.
This is the kid that I remember.
This is the kid I kept hoping would come out.
I think the door that was going to be slammed in Jacob's face is slowly starting to open.
Would you take the opportunity to look at your son and express that you love him? Joanne and Jeffrey had a major breakthrough yesterday.
They realized their son needs their help to move forward.
So this summit is gonna be all about how they can help prepare Jacob for his future.
All right, guys, well, we've had certainly a-a great week.
We've made a lot of progress, been through a lot of experiences.
Uh, Jacob, I'm very proud of the progress that you've made.
But this is not the finish line.
To me, this is truly the start line.
So first what I wanna do is start with the two of you.
Is there anything that you would like to apologize for or any wrong that you'd like to make right? Yes.
I'm sorry for the times that maybe I should've had a little more patience with you.
I was just at a total loss, so when at a total loss, I yell.
So for that, I'm sorry.
Do you forgive her? I do.
I forgive you, mom.
One of the things that Jacob feels like he needs from you as his father is sort of expressing love more directly - Mm-hmm.
Right.
- And specifically.
And would you perhaps like the opportunity to look at your son and express that you love him? I do love you.
Absolutely.
We do love you, both of us.
You know, it comes hard for me to say things like that, but it's very appropriate now.
However we express love to our children, sometimes we forget to say it, and, again, that I'm sorry about.
Jacob, talk to your parents about how you intend to honor them.
I'm not gonna be doing marijuana.
In my mind, I thought I needed it, but I didn't need it.
- And - How else do you intend to honor your parents? I'm gonna stop this constant stealing.
- What's a family without trust? - Right.
And what's a family when they have to lock everything up? - Right.
So let me just tell you, you don't have to be worrying.
As far as I'm concerned, this is a clean slate at this point.
I'm willing to forget whatever, just move forward.
And so what's your hope for your son? I'm hoping he's reaching that potential that we see for him, whether he goes into acting or whatever it is that he does in life.
How how do the two of you commit to helping him do such? We hope to keep him in our house and help him financially.
You know, as long as we don't feel like we're living with a criminal or something.
All right.
And I'm willing to commit to a clean slate as well.
Okay? All right.
I'm very proud of Jacob for deciding to get serious about changing his life.
But to be honest, his parents' change of heart was really sort of surprising to me.
I don't want to be skeptical but I am.
I certainly hope that it was true and genuine for them, but only time will tell.
So what I wanna do right now is talk to you about the next part of this process.
I have an opportunity for you, and what it is is something called the outback therapeutic expedtiion.
This is Utah, a 90-day program out in the wilderness.
The really cool thing about this is that they engage you in helping you recreate your life, redefining your life.
You know, this was the old Jacob.
Now what does the new Jacob look like? It It sounds beautiful.
I know how much you enjoy acting.
Yeah.
And when you graduate this program, I wanna honor that commitment by sending you to the academy of dramatic arts young actors camp.
What?! Wait.
What did you just say? How's that feel? - Really.
- Oh! Dude, when you're doing what you love, it will give you a reason to not do bad things because you don't want to blow what you have going for you.
- It's unbelievable.
- What do you think? Can I hug you right now? Come on.
Come on.
- Can I hug you right now? - Come on.
Josh, you have no idea how thankful I am.
I'm not thankful for the way you treated me But I'm thankful for what you've done for my son.
You think you lose your son, and, uh, this is just such a bright light and such a possible, uh It's just unbelievable.
I will not screw this one up.
- Well, enjoy your - Or else I'm gonna be out on the street.
I'm sure you're gonna make some mistakes, so don't, you know No, I'm gonna be I'm gonna screw up sometimes.
Yeah.
- No, I'm not I'm not a perfect guy.
- Yeah.
I don't know what the future has in store for me, but it's gonna be something good.
It's not gonna be me in the jail cell.
It's gonna be me out in the streets.
I feel like this is a true new beginning for me, and I'm just so grateful for it.