Ariel Hill grew up in West Virginia, and she was in and out of juvenile detention centers beginning at age 13. She served time at South Central Regional Jail in 2017 and was sentenced to Lakin Correctional Facility in 2018 for battery and arson.
Hill struggled with childhood trauma and addiction, but after being released in 2019, she wanted a different life. She found her way to Infinite Pathways, a group recovery home sponsored by the Partnership of African America Churches in Charleston, West Virginia.
She is now an employee at a local market while she works toward a higher education and completes her G.E.D. courses at Garnet Career Center.