You Never Get Through Life Without a Struggle

I’m a twenty-three year old single mother of three. I had my first child when I was sixteen years old and was a junior in high school, I made it to my senior year but pregnant with my second child at eighteen. I ended up dropping out of school, which was a big mistake on my part. By the age twenty I had two boys and was ready to give birth to my daughter just one week prior to my twenty-first birthday. During all this I had already lived in seven different shelters before I got my first apartment.

Finally, I got some stability living in my own home. I decided to go finish school, to be a better role model for my three small children, especially for my daughter. I attended Crittenton Hastings House (which is now Crittenton Women’s Union) where I resided to get my GED. I started in April of 2006 and graduated and obtained my GED in June of that year.

I then took a break from my education for a couple of months to care for my children. I wanted to attend the Crittenton Women’s Union’s Woman to Woman program which helps low income women gain computer skills and career advancement. Due through financial and Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) regulations circumstances, I could not attend the program in the winter of 2007, so I worked a little and volunteered my time. I started a job and realized that I wanted to better myself, so I quit my job and again made a second attempt to enroll in the Woman to Woman program, which I now attend.

Even though I had my children at a young age, I still kept strong and strived to succeed in life. I am now more motivated and am ready to keep thriving to succeed and be a positive role model for my children. I am now going to graduate from the Woman to Woman program in three weeks. I also have been invited to be a guest speaker for an open house for the Crittenton Women’s Union as an alumna of their GED program. My life could have turned out worse being a misguided teen parent, but I chose to make a better life for my children. By the way you never get through life without struggle!

Unfortunately, some women are not as fortunate as I. The cause of this is that most young single mothers don’t have a support system and may not have the knowledge to get the help they need to succeed; and the Department of Transitional Assistance has so many regulations and rules that make it difficult for single mothers to thrive. The government needs to make shelters and educational programs more accessible to that help women succeed.

I think a way that this can be resolved is by getting more funding for programs such as those that helped me and advocated for me like the Elizabeth Stone House and the Crittenton Women’s Union. These programs helped me with a lot of things from interviewing, to getting a job, giving me a suitable place to live, and advocating for myself. Programs such as these needs more funding so more women like me will get the opportunity and the necessary tools to be able to succeed and provide a better life for themselves and their families.

J.M.R.
Crittenton Women’s Union
Woman to Woman Program Participant