Early Childhood

Six years ago Nancy, age 17, was in the hospital giving birth to a baby girl. She already had a two-year-old daughter. She was ditching high school classes. She was uncertain about her future.

Until someone told her about HOPES.

Pam, an LSI family support worker, started partnering with Nancy through HOPES, an early childhood prevention program providing home visits to parents with children from prenatal to age three. The program changed Nancy's life.

"We got along so well," said Nancy, now 23. "She made me feel like I wouldn't just be another statistic of a single mom in low-paying job."

"Pam helped me with my confidence and made me feel like I was doing a good job mothering my kids," she added.

But Pam gave Nancy more than parenting education. She also gave Nancy the courage to go back to school - to earn her GED and attend community college.

"I wasn't even thinking about college," Nancy recalled. "But Pam told me, 'I know you can do things with your life. You have potential.' She motivated me."

Today Nancy is the mother to two happy and healthy girls, ages 7 and 5. She holds an associate's degree and started classes at St. Ambrose University this January. Her goal is to earn a degree in a criminal justice or social work field.

"Looking back I can't believe I was going to let myself go," she said. "I'm so thankful for everything Pam's done for me."

"Nancy always had these big dreams of what she wanted to do," Pam said. "She just wasn't sure she could do it. Once she took the first step, she never stopped."

HOPES (Healthy Opportunities For Parents to Experience Success) helps families take those positive steps through parenting education on topics such as basic care, growth and development and parenting skills.

The program's goal is to promote positive parenting and child outcomes through education, including prevention of child abuse and neglect.

Nancy finished HOPES two years ago. And she's still thanking Pam for believing in her.

"Thank you so much for the push you gave me to begin school again," Nancy wrote in a Christmas card to Pam last year. "You are always in my heart, and you will always be there, because of all the help you have given me and my family."