It is a heartbreaking and unbelievable situation for one Texas teenager. In a YouTube video, a girl who claims to be Alecia Pennington says she can not prove her American citizenship and is suffering because of it. In her video, she tells the story of being born at home and her parents never filed for a birth certificate or social security card. She explains that she was home schooled and never taken to the hospital or doctor. There is no paper trail of her American citizenship or even her existence. Because of this unusual predicament, Alecia says she is unable to be a active member of society. She can’t get a job, go to college, pay taxes, vote or get a driver’s license. She pleas for help or any advice to help her get out of this situation. She says she has contacted the local government officials, but they have denied her any help.
Her video has began to go viral and has since been posted on reddit.
The teenager’s story may seem farfetched, but it seems to be true. Many news outlets have investigated her story. One homeschooling blog, Homeschoolers Anonymous writes of Alecia’s story of being an identification abuse victim. Identification abuse means her parents destroyed or denied forms of identification. Unfortunately, Alecia is not alone.
“According to HARO’s 2014 Survey of Adult Alumni of the Modern Christian Homeschool Movement, out of 3703 respondents, 3.65% (or 135 respondents) experienced some form of identification abuse. Numerous testimonies from homeschool alumni denied identification documents can be seen at the Coalition for Responsible Home Education’s website.”
Alecia has set up various social media outlets to help in her battle. Check out her Facebook page, Help Me Prove It and follow her on Twitter at @HelpMeProveIt.
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