Stephanie Looks Ahead
Stephanie was a straight-A college student in her sophomore year when COVID-19 struck and closed her school. She went home to live with her mom. But the two never got along—less so now that Stephanie was both out of school and pregnant—and she decided to leave.
But where to go? Stephanie combed the internet and found Covenant House Georgia. When she moved into our residential care, Stephanie later said, she knew she’d found a safe place to stay, where she could gather her thoughts and work out her next steps.
Stephanie grew up in South Carolina with her mom and three siblings. Her mother worked several jobs to provide for the family and was frequently away from home. Stephanie felt she and her mom never bonded like she thought a mother and daughter should.
That reality was compounded by the fact that the family was always on the move. They experienced evictions and homelessness more than once. Finally, they settled in Atlanta when Stephanie was in the sixth grade and remained there through her high school years.
After graduation, Stephanie left for college. It was the first time she was ever on her own. She learned to take care of herself and she excelled at school, making the Dean's List her freshman year.
When COVID-19 closed her school and Stephanie came to Covenant House Georgia, she says she was just thankful for a safe place to sleep. We provided for all of her immediate needs, and those of her unborn baby—shelter, safety, nutritious food, medical care. We even anticipated the arrival of Stephanie’s little one with a virtual baby shower hosted by our volunteers! Her baby would have everything she needed!
Stephanie said she couldn’t get over how wrapped in love and support she felt.
After a month in our crisis shelter, Stephanie’s case manager encouraged her to apply for our new Moms and Babes program, which opened at Covenant House Georgia during the pandemic. We have room for eight young families in the program. Stephanie moved into her apartment in early June and just two months later, gave birth to her beautiful baby girl.
Stephanie says that knowing she can count on the stability of our young families program is such a relief because it removes the stress of wondering where and how she would live and how she would take care of her baby. With the support of Covenant House Georgia, she says, she can focus on building the kind of relationship with her daughter that she missed out on with her own mom.
And she can focus on finishing her degree in human resources, which she aims to do next year. But her goals don’t stop there. Eventually, Stephanie says, she’d like to move out to the country, where she plans to give her daughter the best life possible.
