Dec 18, 2007 3:38 pm US/Mountain
12 Year Old Pays It 4ward To Teen Moms
Written for the Web by CBS4 producer Libby Smith
The idea behind CBS4's Pay it Forward Colorado project is to give $1,000 to a Coloradan (or group of Coloradans) who will use the money to change someone else's life. Below lies CBS4's Dec. 13 report. ARVADA, Colo. (CBS4) There is a house in Arvada that is home to a half dozen young mothers and their babies. It's called Hope House, which speaks volumes to its purpose. Hope House was started by two women who were teen mothers.
While they have since married and raised their children, they remember how difficult those early days were. They turned those difficult times into a one-of-a-kind home devoted to young mothers who are parenting.
"All the homes in the metro area were maternity homes, which meant they would take them while they were pregnant but not if they were already parenting. So this is the first -- to our knowledge the only -- two year self sufficiency program that allows parenting teenage moms to live here," said Hope House co-founder Lisa Steven.
Hope House can house six teenage moms and their children at a time. The program requires the moms go to school, participate in counseling, take parenting classes and go to a church of their choice. They can live at the house for as much as 2 years.
"They come in with some pretty heartbreaking stories. Lots of girls who are coming off of the streets or through social services. Sometimes they're leaving abusive relationships; often times there are past issues of abuse and neglect from the home, so lots of stuff for them to work on," Steven added.
Alyce, 20, has just that kind of story. She ran away from her home and lived on the streets for about 9 months. She got pregnant with 17-month-old Aukila and soon after that 5-month-old Araya.
The babies' father is no longer in the picture and Alyce is on her own.
"It's kind of overwhelming, but with help it's not too bad," Alyce told CBS4.
At Hope House, she's going to school to get her GED. She plans to go on to become a physical therapist's assistant.
"I think since I've been here I've come closer to God and I respect myself more since I've been here. It's a really good place to be," Alyce said.
That's where Rheanna Gimple, 12, comes in. She and her mother visited Hope House and the young mothers, just a few years older than her, made such an impression on her that she wanted to help.
"I know it would be really hard to take care of a kid when you're only 16," Gimple said.
Gimple wrote CBS4 asking for $1,000 to pay it forward to Hope House.
With the money, Gimple bought fun toys for the new babies and practical supplies, like a double stroller, for the moms. She wanted her gift to offer hope to the young families at Hope House.
"It's really nice to help other people. It gives me this good feeling and I like it," Gimple told CBS4.
Additional Resources
- Hope House is funded almost entirely through donations. If you would like to help, you can get more information at hopehouseofcolorado.org.
(© MMIX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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