sister mary lou consoles the young woman. >> what happened?ot in the face, in the chest. >> i'm so sad. i'm going to put my hands on you and i'm going to pray and pray and pray. >> reporter: a white catholic nun from iowa comes in here, into one of the toughest neighborhoods in new orleans, and connects with these kids. >> crazy. >> reporter: it's become a hugely popular lunch spot. before leonard entered the program, he had been in and out of jail five times for drug possession. where do you think you would be if you weren't going through this program? >> i would be somewhere in jail because i was really a wreck. i was a real wreck. >> reporter: cafe reconcile is a safe place for these young students but life outside this kitchen isn't safe. two months ago, sister mary lou got a phone call that made her question whether she could go on. >> it was horrible. i threw up my arms, said i'm done. >> reporter: there's a second part to this story. tomorrow, we'll delve deeper into what it was that made sister mary lou want to walk away, the very movi

his senseless murder made sister mary lou want to walk away. >> the last thing i said to him was, i saidhat i hear in my head every day. he said i love you too, sister. >> reporter: it didn't take long for sister mary lou to realize she couldn't give up. she sees inspiration in every face. >> sweet dreams. >> reporter: because of young people like this kid with so much talent and the biggest smile around looking for a place to blossom. ♪ i love people ♪ >> reporter: kozy is 22 years old, taught himself to play the piano. >> i feel every key that i hit is real emotion. >> reporter: his family left new orleans when he was in high school, he stayed behind and started drifting. davis said he wasted countless days smoking weed, no place to call home he lived out of a car, no future for this father of two children. he turned to cafe reconcile. the first time he failed a drug test and got kicked out. >> what did you think of yourself? >> i felt like a failure. >> reporter: you would never guess but his constant smile hides the reality of home life, living in this drug plagued corner district in

. >> i'm mary lou boettcher and i am a republican and i am working with the recall of russell pierce.> we thought by removing him from office it would have a thrilling effect on the rest of the legislateors. >> they needed signatures within a 120-day deadline. more than 10,000 signatures were verified. >> part of the conflict and the more glorious the triumph. we are here to announce a glorious triumph for the state of arizona. >> the recall was an effort to remove. i have done what i said i was going to do. >>> you disappointed? is senator pierce disappointed? >> he won 16 elections. he is 16-0. he is ready to go if there happens to be an election. >> governor jan brewer called a special election in the senator's district come mf 8th. they are challenging the visitors on the petitions and not going down without a fight. >> moving into the next phase of the campaign. >> these volunteers say bring it on. thelma gutierrez, cnn. phoenix, arizona. >> you are in "the situation room" happening now. wall street despite a positive jobs report. wild girations thriving all the volatility and fe

his murder made sister mary lou want to walk away. >> the last thing i said is marvin, i love you, and this in my head every day, and he said i love you, too, sister. >> reporter: she sees inspiration in every face, because of young people like davis, a kid with so much talent and the biggest smile around, looking for a place to blausam. he is 22 years old, and taught himself to play the piano. >> i feel every key that i play is real emotion. >> his family left new orleans when he was in high school, and he stayed behind and started drifting. davis said he wasted countless days smoking waed and no place to call home, he lived out of a car, and no future for a father of two children. he turned to cafe reconcile, but the first time he fail add drug test and got kicked out. >> what did you think of yourself? >> i felt like a failure. >> reporter: you would never guess, but his smile hides the reality of this life. this is a young man that has almost nothing. >> this is the living room. and this is my bedroom. it's either this or homeless. so it's a roof, and i am grateful for a roof. >> t

. >> how mabts mary lou read. >> if they see my grades lacking they can tell me you need to pay moreand they can help me with my homework. >> they'll stay on top of you? >> yes. >> reporter: tutors help kids with their homework, literacy and eventually college prep programs. the goal is a high school diploma and a college education. rosemary, a street squash alumnus, is now a student at connecticut college. this summer she's back in new york helping out. >> if you didn't have the program, what do you think your chances might have been? to get a full scholarship to college? >> zero. without this program, i was not going to go into that school at all. >> reporter: some of the students have earned scholarships to play squash in college. george says it's not about the sport. >> kid not able to hit a forehand, could be a terrible athlete, goes to college, graduates from college, i'm happy. >> reporter: all students who stick with the program graduate from high school and go on to college. and of those, 85% are on track to earn a degree. and street squash doesn't drop the ball when its gra