Debbie Parnham's life was altered forever on December 5, 1992 when her 16-year son, Brent, was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting. Faced with a parent's worst nightmare, she made the choice to turn her tragedy into triumph by making a difference in her community. A "stay at home mom" since 1976, Debbie's life became a mission: a mission to reach kids with her life changing testimony. Shortly after Brent's murder, Debbie and her husband Doug, along with other parents of murdered children, began removing graffiti from neighborhood walls. After a year of sorting through their grief and receiving support from Parents of Murdered Children, Debbie was asked to speak out against violence for that organization. After speaking on various panels, at correction centers and appearing on several television and radio programs, Debbie's mission was evident: try to make a difference in young peoples lives.

Debbie Parnham

Doug and Debbie began to work with a local youth group called Crossroads. The purpose of Crossroads was to provide kids from the inner city with an opportunity to earn money, learn a trade, and experience life outside of the drug infested streets. The Parnham's realized that through teaching kids about choices and consequences, there was an opportunity for change. The Parnham's began to share their story with young people and parents alike at local churches. In 1997 they started a support group for parents dealing with troubled teens and still receive calls for help from all over the country.
Debbie co-founded Life Sentence, a non-profit organization formed in March of 1998, to teach kids about violence, its after-effects and prevention. She speaks weekly in detention centers, public schools and churches. Since being featured in the May issue of Family Circle magazine, Debbie has received several invitations to speak in the U.S. and Canada. Debbie is the recipient of several awards, being recognized by the Durango Detention Center in Phoenix for her work with juveniles, the 12 Who Care award, an award honoring citizens for their community volunteerism from Channel 12 News and also the North Phoenix Plus Award from the Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and recently the January 2002 recipient of the Presidential Point of Light award. She also has been featured in several articles in the local newspapers.
She is currently writing her first book about her life and the life of her son Brent.
Debbie has two surviving children, Brian and Trinity and resides in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband Doug.