Jump Start: Helping young moms set sail
DEBBY ABE; The News Tribune
Welcome to the weekly meeting of the residents at Jump Start house, a deep-blue rambler in South Tacoma that is home to a pair of teen moms and a 23-year-old mom-to-be.
Case managers Yvonne Seyler and Paula Shirley lead the young women in a discussion ranging from swine flu prevention to screening babies for developmental delays to the importance of not talking too long on the house phone.
Seyler and Shirley almost sound like house mothers hovering over college co-eds. But they know they face a critical task: Prepare these three young women for motherhood and for life beyond the haven of the Jump Start program.
All three arrived at the home with little or no family support, and they need to be as self-sufficient as possible by the time they leave.
“My mom died and my stepdad kicked me out,” said one of the 18-year-olds, as her 10-month-old daughter babbled and screeched in an effort to join the conversation.
“I was homeless since I was 14, and then I got pregnant.
“I kind of like decided I wanted to have a stable home for my daughter to stay in, and not be moving house to house. I called Jump Start. They were the only program that would accept me.”
The program is small, but it serves as a precious resource in Pierce County.
While numerous shelters and transitional housing programs will accept women who happen to be pregnant or already have children, the Jump Start house is one of a very few in Pierce County designed especially for young pregnant women and their babies.
The program’s name is a remnant of its original agency, the Faith Homes/Jump Start organization. It ran a variety of housing and social services, including homes for young unwed mothers, for nearly 49 years in Tacoma.
The nonprofit organization fell victim to the economic recession and folded last fall.
Janne Hutchins heard about Faith Homes’ demise and considered what her organization could do to help fill the gap.
The Lakewood Area Shelter Association (LASA) took over the South Tacoma house with the help of grants from the City of Tacoma and Pierce County.
Today, LASA operates the program for up to four 18- to 25-year-old women who are either pregnant or have children.
The association hasn’t publicized what it’s doing, but the requests it receives for such housing speak to the need. In April, it turned away 24 young women who would have met the criteria to live there, Hutchins said. So far this month, it’s said no to 16 women.
“There’s a huge need for housing for teen moms and for teenagers who are homeless,” Seyler said.
Taking on the task of serving young pregnant women was a stretch for LASA. For years, it has provided emergency, transitional and permanent housing and rental assistance throughout Pierce County.
But those initiatives are typically geared to families with children, not to young pregnant women.
“No one was willing to step forward and do the housing for the girls,” said Hutchins, LASA’s executive director.
Her organization made a deal with its financial contributors: “We’d try to run it with the current population for a year, and see if can we make it work.”
Sept. 30 will mark the end of the first year. In addition to the three current residents, two other women have participated at Jump Start and moved on.
The program is going well enough that Hutchins said she recently told the LASA board she wants to continue for at least one more year.
She hopes eventually to arrange for the young women to receive federal housing vouchers when they move out.
Residents must pay a third of their income for rent, whether that comes from state welfare benefits or job earnings. They’re also responsible for buying their own food, though they typically qualify for food stamps.
They must participate in weekly “house group” gatherings and individual meetings with case manager Seyler. They must go to school or work 20 hours a week.
“They can’t sit at home and not do anything,” Seyler said.
The women sign a lease to live in the home for one year, though the stay can be extended for an additional year.
They’re also subject to surprise midnight bed checks from case managers. Boyfriends aren’t allowed to stay overnight.
“We try to be respectful that it’s their home,” Hutchins said. “We also try to make sure they’re respectful of each other.”
The News Tribune agreed not to name the Jump Start residents, who would speak only if they were not identified out of concerns that their personal situation not be made public.
The women said they’re thankful for a place to stay. They’re eager for motherhood.
They’re confounded by some of the headlines in the news recently, such as why a 14-year-old girl in Federal Way hid her pregnancy from her mother and, prosecutors allege, smothered her newborn baby last month.
“I know she’s scared. I was scared,” said one of the 18-year-old moms. “If she didn’t want to keep it, she would have been better off telling her mom, a counselor, the principal or somebody. She didn’t have to tell her mom; they could have.”
The women said there are plenty of options and places to seek help.
The 23-year-old said she had an abortion during another pregnancy when she was 21.
“I thought that I wasn’t mentally stable to deal with it. I didn’t think I’d be strong enough to raise a strong kid.”
Now she’s happily preparing for her due date next month.
She and her 18-year-old housemates were succinct in their advice for pregnant teens who feel alone.
“Don’t be scared,” the 23-year-old said. “Ask for help if you need it. If you need a place to stay, come to LASA, or any program.
“It’s more embarrassing to be out there begging for money, than here.”
Debby Abe: 253-597-8694
debby.abe@thenewstribune.com
Other RESOURCES
• Lakewood Area Shelter Association provides temporary, transitional and permanent housing and help with rent for people throughout Pierce County, including pregnant women ages 18 to 25. The association also accepts donations of single beds, cribs, dressers, vegetable starts and gardening equipment. For information, call 253-581-8689.
• New Beginnings Home in Puyallup provides housing for pregnant women, including those under 18 if parents make a voluntary placement agreement. For information, call Debi Musick at 253-232-7318.
