My Sister's Keeper is a program that assists teenage mothers with parenting and life skills. Too often, teenage girls become mothers without having ever had a good mother figure in their own lives. They have no parenting skills, no life skills (after all, they're still children themselves). My Sister's Keeper pairs up young mothers with older women who become role models, friends, sister's and sometimes guardians for the young mothers until they are able to manage on their own.

    Have you ever seen a 13 year-old girl trying to raise a baby? You would think she would give the child up for adoption, however, all too often that isn't the case. These girls either stays at home with their mothers to try raising the children, or they move in with a boyfriend and try to raise the children. In some cases, the girls are on the run from the foster-care system, and have taken the child with them. These girls have absolutely no idea how to take care of themselves, let alone, taking care of a child.

    My Sister's Keeper is a program that is designed to give these girls, their children and, in some cases, their entire family, the guidance and support needed in order to continue with their education, keep their babies, and still have a regular life. They have already been robbed of their childhood with the birth of the baby, and it is our goal to make sure they don't allow themselves to be robbed out of anything else in their lives, or to rob their babies of a proper environment for healthy development.

    Our first challenge is to make sure that mother and baby are in a safe place in their lives. If not, we have the challenge of getting them to a safe place. Ideally, this would be to get them back home with their own parent or parents if that is a suitable environment that doesn't cause too many problems for mother and child. Many times, in single parent families, we can work with the young mother, and her own mother to provide guidance, resources and other assistance. If that is not possible, then we pair the young woman up with one of our volunteer families, and they become an extended family to the girl and her baby. There are prerequisites that have to be met. The girl cannot be on the run from a foster home, or from any legal entanglement. If so, then we advise her to get that taken care of and we help her to make the choices that are right for her and her baby. Once the legal entanglements are done, the young mother can then move into her temporary home, with the provision that she attends school regularly, apply herself in school, attend regular parenting classes and care for herself and her baby properly. If she keeps her agreement, the Sister's Keeper will arrange day care for the young mother to be able to spend time with her friends at the mall, go to see a movie, and do normal kid things without having to worry about the baby. If the young mother needs help in any school subjects, tutoring is arranged through one of the Nidra King Center volunteer tutors.

    Since every girl in the My Sister's Keeper program has a unique set of circumstances, the length of this program varies, as do the level of services and referrals. Typically, a girl is encouraged to mend any fences with her parents, and the goal of the Sister's Keeper is to encourage keeping the lines of communication open and building good communication skills with the Sister. When the Sister has successfully completed her parenting classes, the theme shifts to other areas. Now the Sister must learn to cook and clean and the Sister's Keeper is challenged to make it a "fun" learning experience. This might be a time when the three of them, Sister, Baby, and Sister's Keeper, will go out to experience the cuisine at various restaurants. Learning how a meal should look and taste lends excitement to watching the Gourmet Chef's on television, then shopping for the right ingredients and following recipes to create the meal on her own. She's not only learning how to cook the meal, she's learning how to shop for the best quality at the best price, and she's learning how to plan and cook a meal that is healthy and well-balanced, as well as delicious.

    As you can see, this Sister will learn to be a good mother, a homemaker, and she will get an education and learn how to study while she is in this program. When she graduates the My Sister's Keeper's program, it will be a success in which everyone involved can celebrate and cheer her on to the next level of development in her life. Instead of being a victim, she is now a conqueror of her own circumstances. She has the incentive to go on with everything she has started here, and she's learned that it is very difficult to have and raise a child alone.

    The My Sister's Keeper program has taught us much about young mothers. So much, in fact, that we are considering a similar program for young father's.