Overview

I am an 18 year old single mom about to finish high school. I live at a homeless shelter for parenting teens and young adults through Detroit Rescue Mission. I have an 8 month old daughter and she attends daycare while I go to school. I've worked harder this year, as a single parent, than any other year in school. I have a new motivation - my beautiful daughter! Last semester I received my highest GPA ever, a 3.0! I'm committed to my future goals and am doing everything I can to show my daughter and myself that we can do great things together.

My goal is to go to college and join the National Guard. Graduating high school is the first step that needs to happen before I can achieve these goals! Along with going to school I want to be a great mom for my daughter. I want her to have things I never did and experience things I only dreamed of as a kid. Graduating school and then going to college will allow me to one day give her a future we can be proud of.

I need help paying for my senior dues so I can graduate! This includes my cap and gown, senior pinning, senior luncheon and yearbook.

Meeting this need will help me because I will get to share my high school graduation with my daughter. I will be able to show her that even through challenges, hard work can pay off. It is also important to me to be able to graduate with my class despite having a pregnancy and becoming homeless. I want to be able to do the same senior activities that my friends will be doing so I can still have the same experiences as a typical teenager.

Validated

Validated by Lindsey from Starfish Family Services (What does this mean?)

We met about 8 months ago when Ta'Myra enrolled in our Infant Mental Health Program, when her daughter was only 1 month old. Ta'Myra was looking for parenting supports and guidance as she did not have many supports of her own as a new teen parent. Soon after we began working together Ta'Myra and her daughter became homeless and we were able to secure safe housing for them in a shelter. I am lucky enough to see Ta'Myra and her baby every week to see the progress both of them are making. I think meeting this need is important because Ta'Myra has worked really hard to make it to graduation despite many of the challanges she has faced over the last year. She has worked very hard to get good grades while still caring for her daughter in the best ways she can. Ta'Myra never gave up and continues to work hard everyday. Ta'Myra has big goals for herself and her daughter and being able to graduate with her original class is a big accomplishment that I think needs to be celebrated. Ta'Myra has been through a lot in her short 18 years of life. Even with limited supports she is able to finish school and care for her daughter. Ta'Myra has already applied to several local colleges and is looking forward to all that her very bright future offers!

About Lindsey

I am the Infant Mental Health and Early Childhood Therapist at Starfish. My work involves conducting home-based mental health therapy for pregnant women and children up to age six. I address various mental health and social/emotional concerns for the entire family unit in two hour sessions every… Read more