Celebrating 10 Years of Empowerment!

4/8/2022

We are proud to celebrate 10 years of empowering young mothers this year! Over the last 10 years Teen Success, Inc. and its incredible supporters have impacted the lives of over 1,600 young mothers, and their children.

On March 31, 2022, we celebrated our 10th Anniversary together online.

If you missed the event, watch it now. And if you would like to contribute to the future success of young mothers, click here to make a donation now.

How Do Moms Hear About Teen Success?

9/14/2021

By: Diana Farias Heinrich, Teen Success, Inc.

We often share how one of the services Teen Success, Inc. provides to our participants is access to resources and opportunities as our participants often don’t know what programs are available to them. But then, how do pregnant and parenting young women find out about the Teen Success program in the first place?

Advocates at Teen Success work hard to network and create relationships with local nonprofit, health, and civic community agencies. These relationships are crucial to spread the word about the availability of the program to the young women+ who could benefit from it. Of the participants in the program, 39% are referred by Social Services and schools, and another 12% are referred through a healthcare provider.

Partnering With Resilient Young Mothers

8/13/2021

Every month, we have the opportunity to share stories of successes and challenges that our participants face. As well as the individual stories of our participants, we also wanted to share more information on who are the young mothers and children of Teen Success, Inc. as a whole.

The young women in our program are strong, resilient and determined. As well as being mothers, they are students, workers, artists, and social justice activists. Their children range in age from newborns to 8-year-old kids. Our moms want them to succeed at every stage in their life and to share their passion for education.

Young mothers face some of the most significant barriers to success. In addition to the challenges and stigma associated with being a young mom, Teen Success, Inc. participants are faced with further complexities including housing instability; limited access to healthcare and reproductive health information; emotional and physical violence in their homes, relationships and communities; lack of access to affordable childcare; and racism and discrimination.

Julianna's Story: A Future Reimagined

7/29/2021

By: Diana Farias Heinrich, Communications and Marketing Manager, Teen Success, Inc.

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. As a high school student, the world is hard enough, but Julianna's world changed dramatically and unexpectedly.

“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 like she didn't belong there as a mom.

Leadership Update at Teen Success, Inc.

7/19/2021

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.

Congratulations to the Class of 2021!

7/15/2021

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.

Early Literacy and the Benefits of Reading 15 Minutes a Day

6/9/2021

Early Literacy and the Benefits of Reading 15 Minutes a Day

By: Diana Farias Heinrich, Communications & Marketing Manager, Teen Success, Inc.

Early childhood development is one of the core components of our two-generation program. To ensure that children are meeting their age-appropriate linguistic milestones, we place a heavy emphasis on supporting our participants to read to their children and promote early literacy. We believe in making reading fun and we help our program participants start libraries for their children at home by providing free books through our partner, Bring Me A Book Foundation.

What is Early Literacy?

Early Literacy is the development of skills that support children in learning to read. Children who meet their literacy milestones and are reading proficiently in the early grades are more likely to graduate high school and enroll in college (source: https://www.renaissance.com/solutions/early-literacy/). Early literacy is essential to giving children the foundation they need to learn and grow.

Meet the Mom Who's Helping Youth Complete Probation Successfully

4/29/2021

The inaugural recipient of the "Honorable Teresa Guerrero-Daley Inspiration Award," Evelyn Gonzalez, is making a positive impact by influencing youth going through probation to make better decisions and successfully their complete probation.

Watch the video and to hear about her journey from a difficult upbringing, to having her son at 16, landing her dream school, and paying it forward for youth experiencing things like she did. You can also find a transcript of her inspiring story after the video.

How can we, as individuals, as a community, rise up to eradicate racism?

4/16/2021

Updated: 4-20-2021

How can we, as individuals, as a community, rise up to eradicate racism?

We start on the inside. We all need to continue to look inside at our own biases because it is within ourselves that we must first demolish the beliefs that make us feel lesser than and make us look at other people as lesser than – what are we holding against others from the moment we see them?

Recognizing our own shortcomings is incredibly difficult, but to make change happen we must look within and take the next right action.

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.

In the News: ABC30 "Downtown Fresno organization aims to support young mothers"

4/9/2021

Click here for the original article and video by reporter Dale Yurong

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Little Sienna McCabe is your typical two-year-old according to her mother, 17-year-old Avana Tarr.

"When she was a newborn, it was way easier," Tarr said. "Now she's running everywhere, getting into things."

Which makes it difficult when mom is in the middle of her online classes.

Why direct cash is critical for young moms struggling to pay the rent in this pandemic

3/10/2021

Why direct cash is critical for young moms struggling to pay the rent in this pandemic

By: Diana Farias Heinrich, Communications and Marketing Manager, Teen Success, Inc.

Direct cash assistance has to be a part of the equation if young mothers and their children are going to survive the short and long-term consequences of the pandemic's economic crisis

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.

Cash for College: How Educational Stipends are Going to Help Young Mothers Stay in College and Even the Playing Field

2/10/2021

By: Diana Farias Heinrich, Communications and Marketing Manager, Teen Success, Inc.

Cash grants, stimulus checks, microgrants – an influx of cash can mean the difference between survival and ruin for people experiencing poverty. That’s why in the age of COVID-19 we’ve seen two rounds of stimulus and more potentially on the way – cash helps people make ends meet.

For the majority of young mothers Teen Success, Inc. supports, educational stipends for post-secondary education are going to be that lifeline. Having low-restrictions and coupled with financial education, educational stipends will reduce the financial barrier that is often the reason young mothers do not pursue college, career, or technical education programs.

Free downloadable infographic shows the challenges young mothers face to finish their education and how the Teen Success, Inc. program helps.

1/8/2021

Teen Success, Inc. program infographic

Download Infographic

Teen Success, Inc. is building pathways to prosperity for two-generations, young mothers and their children.

As young women of color, Teen Success, Inc. participants experience limited access to healthcare and reproductive health information; trauma in their homes, relationships, and communities; lack of access to safe, affordable childcare and stable housing; all while facing the stigma of having a child in their teens. These factors compound the education gap they are facing.

The number one reason girls drop out of high school is pregnancy. In the United States, only 38% of teen mothers ever graduate high school, and less than 2% of young mothers graduate college by age 30.

Getting Low-Income Youth Through School During COVID-19

12/10/2020

Empty classroom desks/search bar:

(Stock image)

By: Diana Farias Heinrich, Communications and Marketing Manager, Teen Success, Inc.

Low-income youth attendance is at its lowest, while affluent communities have the highest student attendance rates

One thing has been made clear by the latest spike in COVID-19 and the subsequent return to shelter-in-place: our youth are not alright.

The effects of the pandemic are hitting low-income youth hard: many young people are not in school or working, or are struggling to make ends meet even with essential jobs. This includes foster youth, homeless youth, justice involved youth, and many pregnant and parenting youth.

Teen Success, Inc.'s Board of Directors Matches Donations up to $65,000

11/30/2020

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. creates economic advancement for multiple generations, by partnering with young mothers to further their education, build life and career skills, and nurture their children’s development.

Teen Success, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Tax ID: 45-0702884

Click here to donate online.

Get In Touch With Us

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

Sacramento Valley Office
3626 Fair Oaks Blvd #100, Sacramento, CA 95864

©2011-2022 TEEN SUCCESS, INC.