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Program Helps Teen Moms Get on Their Feet
Few groups are as stigmatized in society as the teenage mother. And while studies show that children born to girls who are still essentially children themselves are at risk for just about every social problem out there, there are programs available that try to empower young women to break that cycle and create a better future for themselves and their children.
Chicago has a program called Parents Too Soon, run by SGA youth and Family Services. It provides support to teen parents with mental health services, home visits and group support. It begins in pregnancy and ends when the child is five years old.
That last is what really impresses me. New parents of any age and socioeconomic status need support; our hospital runs a parenting program for first-time parents that hooks up parents with a support group of others with babies about the same age, but it ends after about ten months. For these vulnerable young women, having people in their corner through all those first difficult years of parenting has to make a huge difference.
It did for Astrid Torregrosa. She was a straght-A student when she became pregnant. She felt that her mother and teachers were disparaging her for messing up, until her doctor referred her to SGA Youth and Family Services. She said her caseworker Sylvia Sarimentio was the first person who truly understood her fear and isolation.
Thanks to their help, she’s healed her relationship with her mother and is now attending Loyola University in Chicago, with both her son’s grandmothers providing childcare help. Instead of being a statistic, it sounds like she’s well on her way to being a contributing member of society. Good for her — and good for the people who helped her along her way.
Lori Garcia 
Joslyn Gray 
Amber Doty 
Julianna Miner 
Monica Bielanko 
Sierra Black 
Meredith Carroll 
Carolyn Castiglia 
Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
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