I was fifteen when I first got kicked out of my mom’s house. She kicked me out over my boyfriend. She didn’t want me seeing him anymore but I didn’t care, I thought I was in love. With nowhere to go, I ended up living with my boyfriend for three weeks. During those three weeks, I became pregnant. But it wasn’t until after I was back at home with my Mom did I find out that I was twelve weeks pregnant. My pregnancy was rough. I was constantly sick and had to go to school. I actually got sick many times while at school. Going to Harlem, I found out about the HUGS program. I was an active member for my whole pregnancy.
When I was roughly nine months pregnant my child’s father and I got into a heated argument. He hit me several times the face and ended up getting arrested. While he was in jail, I gave birth to the most amazing little boy I have ever met in my whole life.
About a month after my son was born, my mother and I got into a huge argument. It was about her boyfriend. My mother ended up kicking me out. I moved in with my Dad. My Dad was living with his Dad. I continued to be active in the HUGS program as well as Easter Seals. Soon there arose many problems at my Grandpa’s house. My cousins would bring all sorts of drugs around me and my son. I finally said enough was enough. I went to my connections asking for advice. Trena from Hugs and Brittany from Easter Seals both referred me to MELD but told me I was too young to go there. I finally talked to the Social Worker at my school. She then called the MELD shelter and explained my situation. Within a week, MELD had an opening for me. When I got to MELD, since I was only sixteen and needed to make my own decisions, I filed for emancipation. While staying at Trinity House, I continued to go to school. I also started the MELD Employment Program. That extra money really helped a lot. In January, I finally completed the emancipation process. I am now staying in Trinity House on the 3rd floor in their Transitional Living Program.