I am a gradate from Emerson class of 2009, I completed my 3 year degree at Rose state for paralegal in 2012. I am 21 years old now. Emerson helped me so much on achieving my goals and also on how to be a better parent. The clinic was very helpful to me that’s were I used to get my birth control and also good advice on my health questions…

Hi my name is Angelica I graduated from Emerson back in 2007. I am really thankful for the onsite clinic that we had back then. I had my prenatal care there and then my birth control care. It was very convenient for me as a teen mom that couldn’t drive back and forth. The onsite clinic didn’t just help me with my health care but also with my education making it easier to get the care that i need it. Please keep helping all of those teen moms with providing this necessary tool to have not just a healthy life but a successful one too.

I am a 2007 gradate from Emerson Outreach. I was so thankful for a program like Emerson. When I was 14 I wasn’t ready for a baby and Emerson prepared me for one of the most biggest life changing experinces of my life. Having the onsite clinic at Emerson was a really big help for being a confused unexperinced young mother. Having the clinic at the school was so much easier then having to go to antoher doctors office. We didn’t have to take off at school an miss out on learning for the day. Just being able to walk to the clinic an our parents didn’t have to take off work to take us to any appointments. I wouldn’t of known what I would of done with out a program like Emerson Outreach and there onsite clinic. I loved Emerson an still love Emerson for how caring and supporting everyone was to a teen who didn’t know how to make the right decisions.

My Name is Erin (Carver) Stormes, I graduated class of 2004, from the Emerson Outreach program. I learned about the program for teen mothers at Emerson, because the neighborhood high school that I would have attended advised me that they would not let me enroll for the school year, because I was 18 and had a baby. If it wasn’t for the Outreach Program at Emerson, I might not have my high school diploma today or have graduated the year I was suppose to graduate. Throughout the years after graduating, I have continue to return to Emerson to share my story with the girls, for personal advice and just to let the teachers and staff know how I was doing. The teachers and staff at Emerson and the clinic did everything they could to help not only me but other students as well. Now let’s talk about the clinic. The clinic is more than just having medical care on campus. It’s about helping the girls to not miss too much class time. It’s about helping the girls take care of their children, and it’s about helping the young mothers who don’t have family at home to ask questions about the babies or children. The clinic has served the purpose to be more than just a doctor’s office. The clinic also allowed the girls who were not able to drive to have the ability to have a doctor’s office close so that they didn’t have to miss school for doctors appointments for them or their baby. Everyone just sees money in these hard times. I do understand that money makes the world go round, but what about the little things that the ladies in the clinic did for the girls. They made sure babies were born healthy; they made sure that their mothers stayed healthy and became educated, and they helped to decrease the numbers of repeat pregnancy by teaching us about responsible decision making. Both of these programs are great programs, they both help the girls to get their education. Getting an education now days is very important, and more important for a teen mother such as myself. If we do not become educated our children don’t become educated and we become a cost to our community. In my personal opinion doing away with the Outreach program would actually hurt the school system.  I think the dropout rate would increase. Emerson has a totally different understanding and knowledge of teen mothers and the trials and tribulations they face that come with being a teen mother, whereas at a normal high school  they don’t have this knowledge. Like I said before I attend Emerson in school year of 2003 to 2004, graduated June of 2004 which is also the same year I was suppose to graduate. I only went to Emerson, because I was told that my high school would not take me, because I was almost 18 and had a baby. Emerson was and still is a awesome program in our school system, and has  the knowledge, understanding and support for teen mothers to finish high school. I myself am very proud of every teen mother who successfully completes high and raises a baby at the same time, because I know myself it’s not easy. Every teen mother needs to know they can complete high school and become a contributing member of our city. Thank you for hearing what I had to say.