Let’s Make Next Mother’s Day Better for Single Moms in SETX
Beaumont Enterprise
Mother’s Day
May 14, 2017
You may know me as The Tough Old Bird with a Soft Spot for Single Moms. I earned that title while raising my three children as a single, divorced mom. I had a college degree with a teaching certificate, which made our lives reasonable, not grand, just manageable.
Single moms account for one-quarter of United States households. 44% of children in Jefferson County live in single parent homes. Of the 254 counties in Texas only fifteen others have comparable numbers. Single parents in the United States have more than tripled singe 1960. A great many of the single mothers I speak with came out of abusive homes, were hungry for love and got pregnant without realizing the consequences. They didn’t have job skills and no way to gain them while mothering a child.
Education makes a world of difference for the single mother and her family. Being a mother, as well as the primary breadwinner, makes it nearly impossible for them to earn an education and provide a better life for themselves and their children.
The Community Coalition, a new nonprofit in southeast Texas, builds Bridges of Hope and has established an Educational Support Program for single mothers. The program is not an original idea. Other programs across the country like Buckner Family Pathways and the Jeremiah Program have proven successful. Motivated moms given the opportunity to earn a degree turn their lives around. Southeast Texas needs this program. We have the moms and we have the colleges.
This program offers moms who have proven they have what it takes, the opportunity to gain an employable skill by attending college for two years. During the two years they will receive assistance with:
I’ve seen what programs like this can do. It’s not an entitlement program. It’s an empowerment program.
Single mothers get off welfare. They are able to earn a living and support their families. It’s a win for everyone.
Community involvement and support is essential. I hope southeast Texas will get behind this effort to make southeast Texas even better than it already is.
I’ve watched single moms manage to earn college degrees. The difficulties they faced were beyond what most of us would ever choose to tackle. They were able to get better jobs and increase their earning potential. However, the cost leaves some in five-figure debt. Others are forced to take twice as many years to complete. Even though several are the first in their families to attend college they often don’t receive family support or encouragement. I recently learned that college students who do not have a family support system are six times less likely to finish as those who do.
This Educational Support Program will give them the support they need to finish a degree and build a life for themselves and their children. We can create a way for women to move across the bridge from dependency to self-sufficiency. Bridges of Hope for Single Moms will do this. You can learn more at www.thecommunitycoalition.com/educational-support-program.html
Beaumont Enterprise
Mother’s Day
May 14, 2017
You may know me as The Tough Old Bird with a Soft Spot for Single Moms. I earned that title while raising my three children as a single, divorced mom. I had a college degree with a teaching certificate, which made our lives reasonable, not grand, just manageable.
Single moms account for one-quarter of United States households. 44% of children in Jefferson County live in single parent homes. Of the 254 counties in Texas only fifteen others have comparable numbers. Single parents in the United States have more than tripled singe 1960. A great many of the single mothers I speak with came out of abusive homes, were hungry for love and got pregnant without realizing the consequences. They didn’t have job skills and no way to gain them while mothering a child.
Education makes a world of difference for the single mother and her family. Being a mother, as well as the primary breadwinner, makes it nearly impossible for them to earn an education and provide a better life for themselves and their children.
The Community Coalition, a new nonprofit in southeast Texas, builds Bridges of Hope and has established an Educational Support Program for single mothers. The program is not an original idea. Other programs across the country like Buckner Family Pathways and the Jeremiah Program have proven successful. Motivated moms given the opportunity to earn a degree turn their lives around. Southeast Texas needs this program. We have the moms and we have the colleges.
This program offers moms who have proven they have what it takes, the opportunity to gain an employable skill by attending college for two years. During the two years they will receive assistance with:
- Housing and utility costs
- Childcare
- Tuition and books.
I’ve seen what programs like this can do. It’s not an entitlement program. It’s an empowerment program.
Single mothers get off welfare. They are able to earn a living and support their families. It’s a win for everyone.
Community involvement and support is essential. I hope southeast Texas will get behind this effort to make southeast Texas even better than it already is.
I’ve watched single moms manage to earn college degrees. The difficulties they faced were beyond what most of us would ever choose to tackle. They were able to get better jobs and increase their earning potential. However, the cost leaves some in five-figure debt. Others are forced to take twice as many years to complete. Even though several are the first in their families to attend college they often don’t receive family support or encouragement. I recently learned that college students who do not have a family support system are six times less likely to finish as those who do.
This Educational Support Program will give them the support they need to finish a degree and build a life for themselves and their children. We can create a way for women to move across the bridge from dependency to self-sufficiency. Bridges of Hope for Single Moms will do this. You can learn more at www.thecommunitycoalition.com/educational-support-program.html
