C-“My Crittenton story has a number of chapters. It starts 14 years ago when I got pregnant at age 16. My stepmother refused to help me, and I refused to live in a house with no heat in the winter. Not with my child. A social worker who had been visiting the house referred me to Crittenton. I applied and got into Sarah’s House, a mother-child program, and I learned to bond with my child born that year.
At Crittenton, I found safety and reassurance that I was OK and that things would be alright. I am still close to Crittenton staff members who were selfless, really cared and were there for more than a paycheck. They taught me how to be a mother, how to feed and bathe my child, and they provided me the parenting I had lacked for the previous six years since.
We lived at Crittenton for more than two years, and they taught me how to live independently with my son. While we were there, I also worked full-time and got my GED.
At Crittenton, I saw a side of caring and social work very different than what many speak to today. Today, my son is 14 and I am completing coursework in social work myself at UNCC. Crittenton taught me how important it is to pay it forward.
The Crittenton community continues to be a big part of my life. In fact, I met my best friend there and have many Crittenton friends who I talk to often.”
