It is to have a spirit reflecting the stars above.
It is to believe in love. To believe in loveliness. To believe in belief.
It is to be so little that the elves can reach to whisper in your ear.
It is to turn pumpkins into coaches, Mice into horses,
Lowness into loftiness, and nothing into everything.
For each child has its fairy Godmother in its soul. -Frances Thompson (1859-1907)-
The "First Steps"program provides real and practical support to single, teenage mothers and their children, living in poverty by rescuing them from their impoverished conditions and then working with them to develop strategies and solutions to the issues in their lives which keep them trapped in the poverty cycle.
Each year more than 400,000 teenage American children become mothers.
Being a parent can be a major challenge for the best of us, so imagine the challenge for a teenager.
Very few teenagers become Moms because they are promiscuous. The vast majority of teenage parents have no family or social support. Many of them have experienced histories of abuse, neglect, homelessness, poor parenting, poverty and little education. Many of them are themselves the child of a teenage mother. To break the cycle and end the estimated $7 billion in welfare support costs added each year to our nation's budgets we, as a community, need to reach out and change the future.
“First Steps” is an integrated living and life skills support project for teenage mothers and their child/ren designed to overcome the barriers of poverty and empower them to develop the strategies that will enable them to live a better future.
Your support of the First Steps Program gives a single teenager mother and her child/ren not only a rescue from poverty but a hand-up to a brighter future.
Through your donation support Family Focus USA is able to provide individual teenage mothers and their child/ren with such life changing assistance as:
Finding, gaining, and maintaining stable, safe accommodation;
Financial assistance with furniture and clothing needs;
Financial assistance and support with Health needs;
Financial assistance to gain counselling for substance abuse, etc;
Parenting training and support;
Personal development, including inter-personal skills, self esteem, communication, life skills, etc.;
Assistance to access and maintain social support networks;
Financial assistance with child care needs;
Assistance in Vocational guidance and training;
Assistance and support with employment placement;
Ongoing family skills support.
"The First Steps" program is entirely dependant upon the donations and sponsorship of the American community. If you can help Family Focus USA to change the future for an American teenager and her child please click here for more information.