A new documentary produced by the Los Angeles Times follows the story of a young woman named Mckenzie Trahan, or “Stitches,” who was pregnant while living in a tent on the Hollywood freeway.

LA Times video journalist Claire Collins documented Mckenzie’s story and joined host Lisa McRee on LA Times Today.

Trahan was 22 years old when Collins and her team met her. She grew up in foster care and ran away at age 11. When Collins met Trahan, she was seven months pregnant and living on the streets. The team followed Trahan for the rest of her pregnancy as she tried to find housing and health care.

“We got to be with her for some of her first doctor’s appointments really late in her pregnancy," said Collins. "So we were there when she got the ultrasound and telling her she was having a girl. We were there when she moved into housing and on the day that her daughter was born. What I loved so much about getting to work on this story was that we were there for the first year of her daughter’s life and we got to be there for so many milestones. It’s just such a personal story."  

Trahan had been pregnant twice before. They took both children into custody and placed in foster care or given to a family member to take care of. While Mckenzie has been battling drug addiction for years, she was able to stay clean during her latest pregnancy.

“We’ve spoken with some of her social workers about it, and they said that that’s a real testament to her will through this. Ultimately, about a year after [her daughter] was born, Mackenzie failed to appear for her mandatory drug test. DCSF alleged general neglect. And that’s what resulted in [her] being taken into custody and placed in foster care,” Collins said.

Trahan has since moved into an apartment in Glendale. Her mother has regular phone calls with Trahan’s young daughter, who is still in foster care. Collins spoke about what is in store for Trahan’s future. 

"The question of McKenzie’s future is really uncertain in a lot of ways. She’s also fighting a charge that was brought against her related to package theft that is ongoing. I know that she still finds a lot of hope and meaning in her music and in her art, and she wants to keep pursuing that and sharing that with people in the world. But I think there are a lot of unknowns for her."

Click the arrow above to watch the full interview. 

Watch "LA Times Today" at 7 and 10 p.m. Monday through Friday on Spectrum News 1 and the Spectrum News app.