It was around 1983 when a small group of adults
began to share their concern about adolescent pregnancies and the reality that
most observers either morally judged them or avoided their needs as youth in
crisis. This principled group of women
began to talk and reflect with several Sisters of the Good Shepherd and over a
two year process jointly decided that the time for action was at hand. Together they enlisted the support of various
volunteers in their local community of Newmarket
in York Region, Ontario, just north of Toronto in Canada.
In 1985, a residence was opened for young
mothers. The beginning years were lean
financially and yet, the openness of staff and board to the needs of the young
moms created the opportunity to listen to the wisdom of the young. And they
heard, “We do not need you to take care
of us; we need your support to help us learn what it means to become a good
mother. We need help to finish school
and we need help to become adults, something forced on us by our new role as
mothers.”
The Rose of Sharon shifted its focus and
developed into a community based support system offering school, day care,
child development and parenting groups as well as a myriad of other programs to
support young mothers to embrace healthy relationships with themselves, their
child and the community. All of these
programs are seamlessly coordinated by a team of caring and compassionate
counselors who walk the entire journey with each mom from intake to emancipation.
There is no better way to give testimony to
how effective and caring the service at the Rose is than that found in our
featured Shepherd Story. Echoing
numerous comments by these youthful clients, two young moms presented their
thoughts and feedback at this year’s graduation celebration.
Rose of Sharon is a ‘life-giving’ service
for young mothers at a time in their lives when most would feel helpless and
discouraged.