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St. Agnes Family Center Newsletter In this Issue:
Things are finally falling into place," Kayla explains about her future. Life never sounded so good to her, because it was not that way before St. Agnes Family Center. Kayla grew up by moving around a lot, living with different relatives. She started her involvement with the Dept. of Children and Families (DCF) at age 12. By age 15, she was pregnant. DCF referred her to St. Agnes Family Center where she lived and learned for a year. She moved to a shelter while her son, Brett, went into foster care. It was the worst time of her life. Even though she hit bottom, her supporters never gave up. Her DCF worker got her needed counseling, and Brett’s foster parents made sure he saw his mother. "They were saints," said Kayla of Brett’s foster parents. They even brought Brett to visit her on Christmas Eve while living in the shelter. Kayla’s mentor from St. Agnes also provided on-going support to her as she worked to get her life in order. Kayla knew she had to pull herself together in order to stay with her son , so she campaigned to come back to St. Agnes. She knew St. Agnes is where she could build her future. It is unusual for a resident to return after leaving with severe behavior problems but Kayla pleaded her case as a changed person. All of the staff agreed to give Kayla her second chance. Since then, Kayla has graduated from the St. Agnes Family Center program and Kayla and Brett are now doing well in the Transitional Living Apartment Program (TLAP), living in our apartment next door. Kayla is finishing her senior year of high school and plans on going to college. Now their future is looking bright. Kayla explains, "If there wasn’t St. Agnes I don’t know where I would be." New Friends "I was looking for someone like a sister" said Aida, when asked what she expected from the mentor program. She got her "sister" in Maria Koistinen, Aida’s mentor since August. Maria and Aida are in the Mentor Mom program, which matches volunteers from the community to a teen mother at the St. Agnes Family Center. The mentors are positive role models and provide emotional support to their mentees.
Maria started the mentor program when she was an intern at the St. Agnes Family Center five years ago, and is pleased to see some of the mentors she recruited are still here. After her internship, Maria moved out of state but has recently moved back to CT and decided to become a mentor. "Maria said to call her, even at 4 in the morning, when the baby comes," explains Aida of the birth of her baby. Looks like they are both off to a good start together. To learn more about the Mentor Mom Program, call Carla Frett, Volunteer Coordinator or email CarlaF@StAgnesHome.org" The annual meeting of the St. Agnes Home, Inc. was held on September 23, 2002 at the St. Thomas Seminary. Archbishop Cronin welcomed to the Board of Trustees four new trustees:
Also at the annual meeting, Gerald Crotty was inducted as the new Board Chairperson. Congratulations, Gerry! Letter from the Executive Director
Additionally, I am so grateful to our Board and Committee members who give their time and support; to the many individuals, businesses, and grantors; and especially to the wonderful members of The Guild of St. Agnes who have now been working on behalf of our teens and their babies for over 90 years! We’re starting a new program year with a nearly full house of 14 teens and 10 babies. We’re going to need your ongoing help. I want to assure you that the gift of your time and effort and your dollars will have long term payoff in the lives of these children!
With much appreciation, We are proud of all our young mothers and their babies! Here is a sample of the program achievements for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2002:
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Kayla knows the mistakes she made during that year. "I had oppositional and defiant behavior," Kayla describes, giving herself a diagnosis. She knows her behavior wasn’t good for the program as a whole and she understands the reasons she was discharged from St. Agnes.
"Maria gives me advise, makes me laugh", said Aida of her time with Maria. They enjoy going to the park, the library, and making craft projects together. For Maria, the Mentor Mom program is about "giving of yourself, not what you have, giving time and being consistent in their life".
I want to say a huge "THANK YOU" to all of the dedicated 40+ staff and 75+ volunteers who are the “raison d’etre” behind the program achievements realized this past year. Despite the difficult childhood that our young mothers’ have themselves experienced, and the challenging behaviors they exhibit as a result as new moms; our St. Agnes staff and volunteers are consistently “there” for them. That alone is so significant in their lives! The consistency offered by all those who persevere in caring and in working to build trust and help our young mothers make good decisions is invaluable!