Please take the time to “get to know” the teen parents who have inspired our mission
and to understand their essential needs.
Mandi – Pregnant at age 15, quit high school to take care of her
daughter and three younger siblings, while her mom worked two minimum wage jobs(and
her dad is in jail). When her daughter turned 2 yrs. old, she found herself unable
to get a GED – due to lack of funds, transportation and childcare. Mandi has no
job experience, and is unable to get an apartment on her own. Wanting to improve
her situation, she ended up living with an older guy who had a ”good job”, but he
emotionally and physically abuses Mandi. Now, she is worried about her own safety
and her daughter’s welfare, too.
Destiny – Left home at age 16, when her parents forced her to quit
high school, to get a job at a fast food restaurant, to support the family (i.e.
dad’s gambling problem) and to possibly escape suspected sexual abuse by another
family member. Unable to support herself or find a stable place to live, she often
did sexual “favors” to have a place to sleep or to take a shower. Eventually, by
age 17, she ends up pregnant. She manages to keep a full-time job at a retail store
in the mall, but has no health insurance, and still no place to call home, for herself,
or her baby – soon to be born, in just a month.
Isabella – At age 8, her mother left her and two sisters to be
raised by her dad. Her father soon moves in with an abusive “stepmother”. Wanting
to escape this life, at age 14, Isabella leaves town with an older male. To survive,
she gets mixed up in a gang and uses drugs. At age 16, she gets pregnant, and now
wants to quit drugs and live a better life. She is not eligible for any programs
to help her because she doesn’t have a birth certificate and doesn’t know where
she was born. She lost track of her family and has no real friends. She has no phone,
address or transportation. But, she has a beautiful baby son.
Katie – At age 16, her parents “disowned” her when she became pregnant
by her 18 yr. old boyfriend and she refused to get an abortion. When the boyfriend
dumped her, too, she ended up living in a car, with a prostitute, who tried to support
her during her pregnancy. But, there wasn’t enough money for maternity clothes or
prenatal vitamins or bus tickets to the health clinic.
Jenny – Pregnant at age 18, she was already living on her own,
after her child’s father, took off with another young woman. She managed to save
enough money from her meager wages to pay a $35 fee to attend a birth education
class at a local hospital. She rides three busses at night to get there, only to
discover she is the only one attending without a labor coach, and she also has no
decent blanket or pillow to use in the class. Too embarrassed by this, she doesn’t
return to the remaining classes.
Ericka – Since age 12, her meth-addicted mom let other men have
sex with Ericka to get drugs or drug money for herself. At age 15, Ericka gets pregnant
and sleeps on an apartment floor with some meth-using “friends”. While Ericka does
not use drugs herself, she is surrounded by people who do. No one is with her when
she delivers her baby. With no bed, no crib, no real place to call home, she and
her 3-day old baby boy are released from the hospital into the automobile of a social
worker who will try to find a safe place to for them to live – temporarily. There
are no maternity homes in our community.
Josh – He has been trying to finish his high school education,
and get into a trade school. But at age 17, suddenly found himself with the primary
responsibility of caring for his 9 mo. old daughter, while the mom is residing in
a drug treatment center for the next 3 months. Josh’s dad is absent, and his mom
works full-time at a dry cleaners during the day. He has never taken care of a baby
before now.
Note: The above teen parents’ names have been changed and their
circumstances slightly altered to protect their identities. Nonetheless, their situations
are quite real examples of how teen parents’ and their children are attempting to
survive and thrive in our local community, with and without the support of their
own parents.