Sink or Swim

I am young; almost a woman... dangling my feet in a shallow stream. My hormones are surging. Boys are intriguing. My media idols make love and romance seem worth doing whatever it takes to find this elusive thing called ‘love’. I’m casting a line... I’ll reel in true love, right?

I’m a young woman...wading in the lake. The ‘boyfriend’ makes me feel special; loved. My friends are fickle... but he will never be. The time we spend together is the best part of my week. Our affection has turned physical; we are caught up in stealing private time. Everybody’s doing it...right?

I’m young woman in over my head... The physical relationship has become the end all... the time for friends and family has become less important... No one can possibly understand the love we share. He will love me forever...right?

Pregnant? Me? What a scary, awesome, puky, overwhelming river I’ve found myself in. Cool, right? We’ll do this together, right? My perfect little family. We’ll live happily ever after ....right?

There is whitewater in sight. I didn’t know life could change so much, so quickly! Up a creek, without a paddle, that’s me! I didn’t expect to face these currents of emotion and physical changes alone. I mean, I’m not really alone...’alone’... but this is my body, my future, my heart trawling...just trying to snag a chance at happiness. No matter how scared I get, I’ll never let em see me sweat! I won’t drown, right?

The water is swirling around me! I thought I could swim, but this current is taking me under! No sleep, flabby body, crying baby, condescending family, poopy diapers, mood swings, fatigue; I’m really scared. I thought my baby would love me more than anything... I’m not so sure that’s how it is. I thought my boyfriend was the real and forever thing. Some sweet thing in skinny jeans has caught his eye. I think he is gone for good. This is a bad dream, right?

The current has pulled me under. I come up for air, gasping, flailing; there is no help in sight. Even if I can dog paddle to that island just in sight... can I survive there; alone, broke, weary, hopeless, a single mom? It isn’t supposed to be like this, right?

He threw me a life preserver...he promised love and care...what a man! What a sham! My worst days of wading, swimming, even flailing were better than this! I’m no longer my own. He says I owe him my life. What kind of life is this? There is no hope. There is no joy. There is only turbulence. I live in fear, violence is on my doorstep. I will surely drown.

The water is cold and murky, the seaweed has tangled around me...I’m bound without hope or help. Life has choked me into submission. I’m too weak to fight and to frail to beat the evil that pummels me. I’m drowning, for sure. Life will be different for my kids, right?

Most young women survive the turbulence of adolescence and reach maturity unscathed. Some find the love they are seeking; an unplanned pregnancy is embraced and life goes on. Many, too many, are less fortunate. An astounding number succumb to the tyranny of urgent longings and un-tethered lust. They are looking for love in all the wrong places. For those who have plunged in and find themselves in over their head we extend a hand... an offer to come along side... to help them gain their bearings as we stand with them. Young single moms need a community to embrace them. They need mature women to come alongside them, live life with them, model healthy choices and teach them life skills. Young single moms love their babies; they long to be good parents; they simply need coaching, skill and confidence.

We won’t reach every floundering young single mom, but those we engage will have opportunity to become healthy, advocates for themselves and their children as they work toward self-sufficiency. They will learn that they are valuable, capable, and worthy women.
Go to our website to find ways to engage in this work...or give me a call.

614-477-1426

Moving Forward

When I left my position as a Community Health Nurse, having served a multitude of young mothers and their infants/children, I knew the course was set for the rest of my career. I determined to establish a not-for-profit organization able to equip others with health and life skill education. CHLOE, Inc (community health & life skills opportunities & education) was born.
Ten years and many projects later, the focus of CHLOE, Inc has narrowed to equipping young single moms with the education and life skills they need to break cycles of poverty . Our ultimate goal is to establish a self-sufficiency home for young moms needing a safe place to live for a couple of years while they are working on educational, relational, and career milestones. Such a huge vision takes a firm foundation; we work daily to make sure it is indeed sound and enduring as we long to have our ‘place’ and program operational . In the meantime our outreach program is ready to launch! Chloe’s Moms Connection is designed to engage 12 young single moms for 12 months. Parenting and Life Skill classes will be held on Saturday afternoons, the second and fourth week of each month. We are delighted with the Partners in Parenting Education curriculum and excited about sharing life enriching skills that will be both fun and esteem building. Children and infants involved will have access to ongoing developmental screening. Our Mentors and capable childcare workers will make the experience even better for the moms we serve. There are no participant fees for the program .
After hearing of our plan a church offered us classroom and child care space! We are especially grateful as the Sharon Woods Blvd. neighborhood of Columbus, OH is exactly where we hope to have our self-sufficiency home and the 43229 zip code area serve as the hub for our work! Thank you Pastor Dreisbach and Sharon Woods Baptist Church family!
This is a season of joyful anticipation as we begin to offer guidance and resources to young single moms and their children.