Posted by Home Start Marketing Committee Member, Lisa DeMarco
Joanha is a 17 year old single mother living in a small apartment in San Diego with her parents and two elementary aged brothers. She was just your ordinary teenage girl working hard in school, hanging out with friends and trying to prepare herself for college when she got life altering news; she was pregnant at the age of 16. She was terrified, sad and afraid of disappointing her parents. Another major concern was telling her brothers who were only 7 and 9 because she is their role model and they look up to her for guidance.
Joanha did not tell her parents she was expecting until she was 8 months pregnant. Additionally, because she was scared and felt she had no where to turn, she did not receive any pre-natal care during her pregnancy. Just one week after giving birth to a beautiful and healthy baby boy, a nurse referred Joanha to Home Start where she was introduced to her case manager. Immediately, Joanha was successfully enrolled in health insurance, was provided critical infant care instruction and much needed emotional support. Her case manager helped Joanha get past the overwhelming feeling of failure and helped her to understand that she can still have a future. She also shared with Joanha many essential community resources and parenting tools that she would benefit from as a young teen mother.
Currently Joanha is caring for her child while finishing her senior year of high school and will graduate in June. After graduation she plans on going to college at San Diego State University and continuing parenting classes through Home Start. She is now a confident mother who is enjoying her child and focusing on creating a stable and bright future for herself and her son.
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