Program helps teen moms cope with their new lives

Rosalie Hall resident Mary Ellen Bowers, 17, is expecting a girl. Photo by Karsten Moran

Riverdalian Steven Parker heads a facility that gives girls — some as young as 11 — a safe haven and a chance to succeed at motherhood.

By Maria Clark

It’s lunchtime at Rosalie Hall. Its young residents walk out of their brightly painted bedrooms towards the cafeteria as the smell of food starts wafting down their hall. Loud chatter filters out as the girls sit down for lunch.

One of the girls is just waking up. She rubs sleep from her eyes as she rushes into the bathroom in the bright pink and yellow nightdress that barely conceals her growing baby bump.

Rosalie Hall provides a safe-haven from homeless shelters and difficult family situations for 14 young mothers- to-be. The girls range from 11 to 19 years old. They live in the 50- year-old residence located in Woodlawn, attend regular classes there and receive counseling as they prepare for motherhood.

The concept behind the residential facility was introduced in 1887, when five Catholic Misericordia nuns arrived in Staten Island to help care for pregnant women and shelter them. The residence was moved to its current location in the Bronx in 1958. All of the girls, who are referred to Rosalie Hall by the Administration of Children’s Services, are in foster care, and many come from troubled homes with histories of violence, drug abuse, and poverty. At Rosalie Hall, the girls receive pre-natal care and work closely with social workers who address their psychosocial needs.

“The girls are here with us on average between 90 to 120 days. It’s little time to undo the damage the system has done to them,” said Dr. Steven Parker, a Riverdale resident, and executive director of Rosalie Hall for 10 years. “The girls work closely with their case workers to address their physical and emotional needs.”

Dr. Parker oversees all programming at the center, including the home’s community outreach program, and also functions as a liaison to the surrounding community. He has been affiliated with Rosalie Hall since 1987 and has worked extensively with pregnant and parenting teenagers and their families throughout his career.

The girls wake up each morning before 9 a.m. to attend classes in the building, just like a regular school. They break at 11:30 a.m. for an hour of lunch and return to class in the afternoon. The young residents are awarded points for good class attendance; progress in their grades and for adhering to their curfew hours, when they are expected to return to the home. Good behavior can eventually mean a weekend pass to visit their families and friends.

Mary Ellen Bowers, 17, is just weeks away from giving birth to her first child, a baby girl she will call Nevaeh (heaven backwards). Mary Ellen, a longtime runner, still looks like an athlete despite being nine months pregnant.

She had just started her junior year at DeWitt Clinton High School when ACS referred her to the residence for the remainder of her pregnancy because of overcrowding at her home. Her grandmother, who lives in Woodlawn, adopted her when she was six. She lived there with her younger brother and sister.

Perhaps the biggest change for her was going from attending what she describes as an overcrowded school to taking classes with only 13 other girls.

“My friends aren’t here, so I’m not so distracted. I get more time to study here and my grades have gone up,” she said. She has been awarded certificates for her efforts.

Mary Ellen spends the rest of her day visiting her grandmother and siblings who live close-by and working on a blanket she is crocheting for her daughter.

Mary Ellen said she is looking forward to running track again and playing basketball once Nevaeh is born. Rosalie Hall, working in conjunction with the Administration for Children’s Services will set her up with a program so she won’t be separated from her baby girl after she leaves, which she will have to do once her baby is born.

“We work closely with the family and with ACS to see if we can get the girls to move back with their own families after they give birth,” said Dr. Parker.

The Mother-Child Program focuses on obtaining long-term housing, employment and parenting skills for homeless pregnant women and mothers with children.

“We start working immediately on discharge plans, to make sure they [mother and child] are not separated,” said Dr. Parker. “For many of these girls, the baby addresses a deep emotional need to give to them what they were missing growing up,” she said.

Nicole Latella, 19, is a relatively new resident at Rosalie Hall. She left her mother’s home in Oswego, N.Y., about a year ago because of trouble at home. She decided to move in with her boyfriend Julian and his mother in the Bronx, but was kicked out. During a year on the street, the couple had to endure long lines and sleepless nights in waiting rooms to get into a shelter. Since they are not married, they had trouble getting room in a family shelter, and Ms. Latella feared going to one for single women.

Julian’s mother recommended Rosalie Hall to her. His sister was a resident nearly seven years ago.

“They make sure I take my vitamins and even though I’ve been here only a week I feel like I’m getting along,” said Ms. Latella.

She is almost seven months pregnant and hopes that once her baby boy, Julian, is born, she will also be placed in a Mother- Child Program.

“They are hard to get into, so I’m going to try to be on my best behavior to get a referral,” she said.

Her mother will be driving down from Oswego, to visit her when Julian is born.

“Yeah, I’m nervous. But I hope everything will work out,” she said.

This is part of the January 21, 2010 online edition of The Riverdale Press.

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