Your Story Matters There are a few more organizations to research and celebrate in my weekly newsletter who provide support to teen moms, but I’m taking a break this week to report on something else. I’ve been doing interviews the past several weeks with individuals who have mentally ill family members. The project is contractedContinue reading “Your Story Matters: Mental Health Book Project”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Healthy Teen Network
When I talked with Kate Westaby a couple of weeks ago for my post about the Young Parent Collective, she suggested I also create a post about the Healthy Teen Network, which she has partnered with for Young Parent Collective programs. I’ve done research on their site for my book about teaching teen moms, justContinue reading “Healthy Teen Network”
Choose Change: You never know where it’ll take you
Last year, I finished a memoir about my eight-year career as a science teacher to teen moms, called Subject to Change. My story emphasizes the human capacity for and willingness to change when unexpected things happen. Sometimes we choose change, too. When I started this Substack newsletter last year, it seemed only natural that IContinue reading “Choose Change: You never know where it’ll take you”
Power Behind the Young Parent Collective: Kate Westaby
Kate Westaby was 17 and a senior in high school when she discovered she was going to be a mom. Although it was discouraging, Kate was determined to graduate and provide a secure family for her son, which was difficult enough by itself. Despite the challenges, she successfully navigated the educational system to graduate andContinue reading “Power Behind the Young Parent Collective: Kate Westaby”
Young Parent Collective
This week, I’m featuring the Young Parent Collective in Madison, Wisconsin. Its guiding principle is that “All young parents can achieve educational dreams, career goals, and health and well-being for themselves and their children.” Everything the program does supports this belief. In 2022, Kate Westaby, who was working on her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership, obtainedContinue reading “Young Parent Collective”
Empowering Teen Moms: YWCA
The YWCA is a familiar acronym but I really didn’t know what they do until one reader suggested I research the program they operate in Greensboro, North Carolina for teen moms. The organization has existed since the 1850s. Yes, they’re more than a century and a half old. I’m surprised I knew so little aboutContinue reading “Empowering Teen Moms: YWCA”
Power to Decide: Preventing Unplanned Pregnancy
The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy was founded in response to a teen pregnancy rate in the US that exceeded that of most developed nations. President Clinton called for a national response in his State of the Union address in 1995, and the National Campaign was formed and funded the following year. Since theContinue reading “Power to Decide: Preventing Unplanned Pregnancy”
Martha’s Foundation: A Sanctuary for Teen Moms
Myrtle Watson, who founded Martha’s Foundation in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has spent her career as a nurse educator and a tireless advocate for at-risk teens who become pregnant. Her work with teen moms convinced her that services for pregnant teens should include a residential facility tailored to young moms and their babies. No other agency inContinue reading “Martha’s Foundation: A Sanctuary for Teen Moms”
Parents as Teachers
Photo by Vivek Kumar on Unsplash One of the dilemmas I faced when I taught teen moms was how to best balance facilitating their learning of academic principles and honoring their need to learn how to be mothers. Not surprisingly, girls were often distracted in the classroom by whatever was going on with their babiesContinue reading “Parents as Teachers”
Support for Single Moms: Arms of Hope
Several years ago, a women’s retreat I attended chose to benefit a charity through the donation of essential supplies. The Refuge Ranch in Bastrop, Texas, just southeast of Austin, provided residential care and support for former victims of sex trafficking. Many clients were adolescent girls. As part of our retreat, we packed “goody bags” forContinue reading “Support for Single Moms: Arms of Hope”
Janice Airhart 