 Today, 22-year-old Julianna is confident as a mom and as a person, but she hasn’t always been that way. It has taken time, support, and encouragement for her to see herself for the amazing person she is - because at a time when the world is already hard enough, Julianna's world changed dramatically.
“My life changed directions [when I became pregnant] and I saw things differently. Now, I think, ‘How did I handle all that stress at 16’?” At the time of her pregnancy, Julianna was a Junior in high school, and she was looking forward to going to college. She visited one university, but she felt sad because college didn't feel like the place for her anymore.
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 Dear Friends,
Like you, I have spent a lot of time over the past year reflecting on so many things, including what my family needs. The pandemic brought many challenges for working parents, but also allowed us to spend more time with our children. Through all of this, I realized that I needed to make some changes to better prioritize my family. It is therefore, with mixed emotions, that I will soon be moving to the East Coast to pursue new opportunities for myself and my children. The choice to make this move hasn’t been an easy one, but the past year has made it clear that this change is necessary for my family to thrive.  This year 33 young women from Teen Success, Inc. graduated from high school!
These young women overcame every barrier (including a pandemic), challenged every stigma, and made a path to a better life for themselves, and their child thanks to our communities support. This year, we began supporting all our participants are pursuing post-secondary education with educational stipends and they are studying everything from cosmetology to psychology. We recognized the need for this direct assistance as a critical resource to create economic mobility for their families because it would ease the costs of post-secondary education.
Injustice is dominating the headlines and our social media feeds and it makes it seem as though the dream of justice is only that, a dream. But it’s imperative that we cultivate our belief in taking the next right action.
Click here for the original article and video by reporter Dale Yurong
Without financial support, young families are bearing the brunt of the worst long-term effects of the pandemic, from developmental delays on their children due to stress, food insecurity, and homelessness, to potentially lowering earnings across their lifetime for both mother and child due to inability to stay in school and support their child’s learning.
Kicking off on #GivingTuesday 2020, Teen Success, Inc.’s Board of Directors invests in breaking the cycle of poverty for young families; All donations matched through the end of 2020 up to $65,000 MILPITAS, CA, November 30, 2020 – Teen Success, Inc.’s Board of Directors takes a stand for educational equity and young families of color by matching all donations made to Teen Success, Inc. through December 31, 2020. The $65,000 matching campaign kicks off on December 1, in conjunction with #GivingTuesday, a national day of giving where everyone can make a difference.
Teen Success, Inc. empowers young mothers to graduate high school, pursue post-secondary education, and break the cycle of poverty for themselves and their children. Click here to download the press release.
Teen Success, Inc. Advocates educate program participants in the stages of early child development so that they can approach their doctors with the right questions and thereby make answering these forms more effective.
CHILDCARE ACCESSIBILITY SIGNALS THE WEALTH AND EDUCATION GAP IN CALIFORNIA
This issue is exasperated when young mothers are single. Many wait months, even years, on subsidized childcare waitlists, and the majority of these do not accept infants and/or require children to be potty trained. This means that for the first two years of the child’s life, a young mom has to rely on family to help if she is to be able to make any investment in her future beyond high school.
Parenting teens are one of the youth populations at highest risk for not finishing their high school education or pursuing a post-secondary education. Only 38% of young mothers graduate from high school and less than 2% of them complete college by the age of 30.
In California, those who don’t graduate from high school earn annually less than half of the amount considered the state’s living wage of $57,096. |
In Case You Missed It
Leadership Update at Teen Success, Inc. Congratulations to the Class of 2021 Early Literacy and the Benefits of Reading 15 Minutes a Day Meet the Mom Who's Helping Youth Complete Probation Successfully How Can We Eradicate Racism? It Starts With Inner Work. In the News: ABC30 "Downtown Fresno organization aims to support young mothers" Why Direct Cash is Critical for Young Moms Struggling to Pay the Rent in this Pandemic Cash for College: How Educational Stipends are Going to Help young Mothers Stay in College |
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Teen Success, Inc. empowers young mothers to complete high school and persist through post-secondary education while nurturing their child’s positive development to ensure the success of the whole family.
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Headquarters & Bay Area Office
Sobrato Center for Nonprofits 508 Valley Way, Milpitas, CA 95035 Main: (408) 263-8330 Email: info@teensuccess.org Central Valley Office
2909 Tulare Street, Fresno, CA 93721 |
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