When I became a mom at 16 years old, I’m not sure if I would say I was scared. A lot of my friends were already pregnant, so pregnancy wasn’t something unfamiliar to me. But I was scared to tell my mom and dad. My dad had always said that if I got pregnant, he would put me out. Because of that, I hid my pregnancy. Eventually, I ran away and went to stay with my child’s father, who was much older than me at the time. My daddy came looking for me. When I told him why I had left, because I had gotten pregnant, he did exactly like he said he would. He told me to stay where I was. He said that if I was grown enough to lay up and have a baby, then I was grown enough to stay out there and take care of it. I struggled for a long time. My child’s father ended up getting killed, and after that, I just laid my head place to place.

My parents never asked me to come back home, even though I had they grandchild. I just went from one house to another with my baby, trying to find somewhere for us to stay. Eventually, I met Ms. AJ at my school and when she told us her story, I went up to her after it was over and told her I had no home. She called somebody and I went to a shelter. The shelter wasn’t somewhere I wanted to stay, but at least it was somewhere safe for me and my baby.

After that, I was able to get my very first apartment. Programs can help, but support helps the most. Sometimes, you just need somebody to care. I have since repaired my relationship with my mama and my daddy, especially my daddy. I now have my own apartment, and I’m doing good. I hope other young moms are able to find some type of support because having support really helped me.