Seamless Transition to Motherhood

“A year ago, I didn’t even know how to be a mom, or even how to change a diaper, but RLH has provided me with the skills to be a responsible adult and mom,” says Amber, the new mother of a baby girl named Maddie and a resident of Covenant House New Jersey’s young families program, Raphael’s Life House (RLH).

“Being at RLH means I get a second chance. I am given the opportunity to get back on my feet and become the best mom I can be. RLH has helped me realize that my past is not my potential and that I can and will do better for myself and my baby girl,” Amber says.

Like all RLH residents, Amber, pictured at left with Maddie, was facing homelessness when she learned she was pregnant. Covenant House New Jersey offered her a safe and stable place to live and care for her baby. At RLH, she could also tackle the initial challenges of both parenthood and adulthood with the support of her peers and our loving and able staff in a private townhome in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where each young woman has her own room.

Rebbecca, the mother of a newborn baby girl, says that before coming to Covenant House, she was constantly on the move, going from house to house, with no stable place to stay and no one to guide her through her pregnancy.

“Being at RLH means a lot to me,” she says. “RLH has helped me with motherhood by providing a lot of basic training classes. Being a new mom is scary, but receiving training like Baby Care Basics has helped me a lot.”

Baby Care Basics is just the beginning of what young parents and expectant mothers will find at Covenant House.

“Since being at RLH, I have been given housing opportunities, work employment, and mom and baby support groups,” Amber says. “RLH gets moms started with a youth savings plan to help deposit our work income. This has provided me with the financial literacy all moms should know.”

Both Amber and Rebbecca have grown in confidence as mothers and as individuals who are excited to assert their independence. Rebbecca recently moved to her own apartment and Amber is preparing to do the same soon.

The unconditional love they and their baby daughters received at Covenant House New Jersey is repeated over and over again across our Covenant House movement. Last year, across all our houses, we welcomed a total of 347 young parents and their 420 babies and children, and provided them with the tools they need for healthy parenting and sustainable independence.

“RLH has made the transition to motherhood seamless,” Amber says. “I am now on a better path than I was a year ago. I hope to take the skills and knowledge I have learned at RLH and use them in my next chapter in life.”