StoryCorps Chicago: ‘You Believed In Me When You Didn’t Know Me’

By Bill Healy
Terri Treiman and Tiffany Baker at StoryCorps in Chicago.
Terri Treiman and Tiffany Baker at StoryCorps StoryCorps Chicago
Terri Treiman and Tiffany Baker at StoryCorps in Chicago.
Terri Treiman and Tiffany Baker at StoryCorps StoryCorps Chicago

StoryCorps Chicago: ‘You Believed In Me When You Didn’t Know Me’

By Bill Healy
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Tiffany Baker grew up in Chicago, but most of her family has moved away and she rarely comes back to visit. Tiffany runs The Empowerment Center, a nonprofit in Temecula, California, where she mentors young people and their families.

In August, she made a rare visit back to Chicago to attend an anti-poverty conference. While here, she visited the StoryCorps booth in Chicago with her former social worker, Terri Treiman.

“I met you at the point where I had to become an adult,” Tiffany told Terri.

Terri Treiman and Tiffany Baker
Courtesy of Tiffany Baker

When Tiffany turned 21, she became legal guardian to her siblings. But Tiffany had already been taking care of them for years.

Terri and Tiffany are friends on Facebook, but they haven’t sat down together in years. When they finally did, Tiffany wanted Terri to know how their relationship helped her family to flourish.

Bill Healy produces StoryCorps Chicago for WBEZ and teaches journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him @chicagoan.