They are young and pregnant and often scared. Many aren’t sure where to turn — until they find The Open Door.
The Palm Beach County-based Christian program arms the mothers, all in their teens and early 20s, with help paying for child care, advice for keeping a budget and, maybe most importantly, relationships with mentors who are moms themselves.
In exchange, participants make a few promises: that they’ll finish school, hold down a job, delay other pregnancies and attend weekly life skills classes. Later this year, the three-year program will graduate its first class of mothers, all of whom have fulfilled those requirements.
“I don’t even know where I’d be without them,” said 21-year-old Courtney Walker, mother to 3-year-old Caelin and soon-to-be graduate.
Now, two years after getting started, The Open Door is doubling its size. In September, two more churches — Christ Fellowship in Palm Beach Gardens and Calvary Chapel in Lake Worth — will join North Palm Beach’s First Presbyterian Church in offering the program.
All told, the three churches will serve 25 young mothers.
Last year, 691 teens gave birth in Palm Beach County, according to the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County. That’s down from 1,196 in 2009 to 691 in 2013.
Leaders at The Open Door say their program fills an important need.
“There is a huge breakdown of support once girls decide to keep their babies and be a mother to their babies,” said Angela Ball, one of the directors.
The Open Door is the only South Florida licensee of Teen Mothers Choices International, an Illinois-based Christian organization that trains churches and other groups around the world to help young mothers. The local organization was started in Palm Beach County by Deana Cerniglia, who was raised by a teen mother herself.
Ball said the goal is to help young mothers become independent and stay off government assistance.
“We’re breaking generational cycles two generations at a time,” she said. “We’re not only impacting the life of the teen mother, but also impacting the life of their child.”
To that end, they bring in a financial adviser during some of the classes, which last for three hours each week and also include Bible study, to assist with budgeting. Mentors, who must be Christian, attend the courses alongside the young moms each week.
But the relationship doesn’t end there. Mentors often spend hours each week with the moms they’re paired with. They give advice, go shopping, share meals and watch the babies to give their mothers a break.
“It’s just a great feeling to know that there are people there that care about you,” said Toni Cain, 23 and mother to 3-year-old Jayden.
Her mentor, Ellen Hobbs, said she loves the opportunity to support Cain and other young mothers.
“They’re brave, strong women that have chosen a very, very hard road,” she said. “So it’s nice to be able to walk beside them.”
Though the program ends after three years, the mentors say their relationships with the moms and their children will last much longer. Kelley Light, mentor to Walker and another young mother, said she can’t imagine it any other way.
“You develop a bond with them where they’re almost like part of your family,” she said.
https://www.ckmconsultants.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Screen-Shot-2014-08-28-at-1.17.40-PM.png367853Carahttps://www.ckmconsultants.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/logo-ckm.pngCara2014-07-24 17:16:052014-08-29 15:20:45Mentoring program for teen mothers expanding
Distinction: CEO of The Center for Family Services
Ted Greer, Jr. CEO of The Center for Family Services in West Palm Beach, Florida on June 13, 2014 (Allen Eyestone … read more
City: West Palm Beach
Ted Greer’s skills as a non-profit administrator helped him to raise millions in grants and from fundraising activities. The money gave him a chance to implement programs for truancy prevention, health and wellness, disease prevention and a drop-in center for youth and adults (including youths aging out of foster care with independent living skills).
These days, Greer is using those skills as Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Family Services of Palm Beach County (www.ctrfam.org), a non-profit that helps more than 15,000 people each year.
He oversees a $3.5 million budget, of which $1.1 million comes from events.
Among his other duties, Greer spends a lot of time talking to anyone who will listen about the needs of the Center for Family Services, a 53-year-old social services organization with a mission of strengthening families through counseling, education and homeless intervention. The agency provides services for homeless families with children and families at risk for homelessness, substance abuse treatment programs and therapy for children who are victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
“One of the first things I did when I got here (six months ago), was to go out in front of every possible funding source,” he said. It’s already paying off. The Center for Family Services just received a $125,000 grant from the Quantum Foundation.
This year, he is also seeking federal funds for the organization, something that hadn’t been done before.
Previously, Greer was the chief executive officer of Fresh Start Family Services, a Florida non-profit that empowers children and families by providing services and access to resources needed to attain self-sufficiency.
The son of a minister, Greer grew up in Miami and had dreams of becoming a police officer.
“In junior high, my mother sat me down to talk about the impact being a police officer had on families,” Greer said. “That’s when I decided on the mental health field. Since then, I’ve never wanted to do anything else.”
After Hurricane Andrew, Greer said he was called to ministry like his dad. His two jobs work hand-in-hand.
But patience is critical to both professions, he said. Success takes time.
Age: 50.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in social work, master’s in healthcare administration and doctorate in ministry from Christian Bible College in Rocky Mount, N.C.
Personal: Married for 17 years to Olivia Elaine Greer; two daughters, Keziah Elaine, 14, Kereyne Candis, 9. Lives in Delray Beach.
Hobbies: Cruising, sports.
Career highlight: “Served as a conduit for low-income minority lung cancer patients to access and enroll in a collaborative clinical trial with New York Cornell University and Jackson Memorial Hospital at no out-of-pocket cost to eligible patients.”
Favorite quote: “Patience is a virtue!” – from the poem “Piers Plowman” written between 1360 and 1387
https://www.ckmconsultants.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/061314-biz-ted-greer-jr.jpg568715Carahttps://www.ckmconsultants.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/logo-ckm.pngCara2014-06-22 17:18:222014-08-29 15:20:45Moving Up: Ted Greer, CEO at Center for Family Services
Mentoring program for teen mothers expanding
by Cara3:40 p.m. EDT, July 24, 2014
They are young and pregnant and often scared. Many aren’t sure where to turn — until they find The Open Door.
The Palm Beach County-based Christian program arms the mothers, all in their teens and early 20s, with help paying for child care, advice for keeping a budget and, maybe most importantly, relationships with mentors who are moms themselves.
In exchange, participants make a few promises: that they’ll finish school, hold down a job, delay other pregnancies and attend weekly life skills classes. Later this year, the three-year program will graduate its first class of mothers, all of whom have fulfilled those requirements.
“I don’t even know where I’d be without them,” said 21-year-old Courtney Walker, mother to 3-year-old Caelin and soon-to-be graduate.
Now, two years after getting started, The Open Door is doubling its size. In September, two more churches — Christ Fellowship in Palm Beach Gardens and Calvary Chapel in Lake Worth — will join North Palm Beach’s First Presbyterian Church in offering the program.
All told, the three churches will serve 25 young mothers.
Last year, 691 teens gave birth in Palm Beach County, according to the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County. That’s down from 1,196 in 2009 to 691 in 2013.
Leaders at The Open Door say their program fills an important need.
“There is a huge breakdown of support once girls decide to keep their babies and be a mother to their babies,” said Angela Ball, one of the directors.
The Open Door is the only South Florida licensee of Teen Mothers Choices International, an Illinois-based Christian organization that trains churches and other groups around the world to help young mothers. The local organization was started in Palm Beach County by Deana Cerniglia, who was raised by a teen mother herself.
Ball said the goal is to help young mothers become independent and stay off government assistance.
“We’re breaking generational cycles two generations at a time,” she said. “We’re not only impacting the life of the teen mother, but also impacting the life of their child.”
To that end, they bring in a financial adviser during some of the classes, which last for three hours each week and also include Bible study, to assist with budgeting. Mentors, who must be Christian, attend the courses alongside the young moms each week.
But the relationship doesn’t end there. Mentors often spend hours each week with the moms they’re paired with. They give advice, go shopping, share meals and watch the babies to give their mothers a break.
“It’s just a great feeling to know that there are people there that care about you,” said Toni Cain, 23 and mother to 3-year-old Jayden.
Her mentor, Ellen Hobbs, said she loves the opportunity to support Cain and other young mothers.
“They’re brave, strong women that have chosen a very, very hard road,” she said. “So it’s nice to be able to walk beside them.”
Though the program ends after three years, the mentors say their relationships with the moms and their children will last much longer. Kelley Light, mentor to Walker and another young mother, said she can’t imagine it any other way.
“You develop a bond with them where they’re almost like part of your family,” she said.
bshammas@tribune.com, 561-243-6531 or Twitter @britsham
For more information about The Open Door, visit mentorsforteenmothers.org or call 561-329-2191
Copyright © 2014, South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Moving Up: Ted Greer, CEO at Center for Family Services
by CaraSource: The Palm Beach Post
Photo Credit: Allen Eyestone
By Mary Thurwachter – Special to The Palm Beach Post
Distinction: CEO of The Center for Family Services
City: West Palm Beach
Ted Greer’s skills as a non-profit administrator helped him to raise millions in grants and from fundraising activities. The money gave him a chance to implement programs for truancy prevention, health and wellness, disease prevention and a drop-in center for youth and adults (including youths aging out of foster care with independent living skills).
These days, Greer is using those skills as Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Family Services of Palm Beach County (www.ctrfam.org), a non-profit that helps more than 15,000 people each year.
He oversees a $3.5 million budget, of which $1.1 million comes from events.
Among his other duties, Greer spends a lot of time talking to anyone who will listen about the needs of the Center for Family Services, a 53-year-old social services organization with a mission of strengthening families through counseling, education and homeless intervention. The agency provides services for homeless families with children and families at risk for homelessness, substance abuse treatment programs and therapy for children who are victims of sexual abuse and domestic violence.
“One of the first things I did when I got here (six months ago), was to go out in front of every possible funding source,” he said. It’s already paying off. The Center for Family Services just received a $125,000 grant from the Quantum Foundation.
This year, he is also seeking federal funds for the organization, something that hadn’t been done before.
Previously, Greer was the chief executive officer of Fresh Start Family Services, a Florida non-profit that empowers children and families by providing services and access to resources needed to attain self-sufficiency.
The son of a minister, Greer grew up in Miami and had dreams of becoming a police officer.
“In junior high, my mother sat me down to talk about the impact being a police officer had on families,” Greer said. “That’s when I decided on the mental health field. Since then, I’ve never wanted to do anything else.”
After Hurricane Andrew, Greer said he was called to ministry like his dad. His two jobs work hand-in-hand.
But patience is critical to both professions, he said. Success takes time.
Age: 50.
Education: Bachelor’s degree in social work, master’s in healthcare administration and doctorate in ministry from Christian Bible College in Rocky Mount, N.C.
Personal: Married for 17 years to Olivia Elaine Greer; two daughters, Keziah Elaine, 14, Kereyne Candis, 9. Lives in Delray Beach.
Hobbies: Cruising, sports.
Career highlight: “Served as a conduit for low-income minority lung cancer patients to access and enroll in a collaborative clinical trial with New York Cornell University and Jackson Memorial Hospital at no out-of-pocket cost to eligible patients.”
Favorite quote: “Patience is a virtue!” – from the poem “Piers Plowman” written between 1360 and 1387