ARVADA —Three teenage mothers cooked dinner and arranged plates on a kitchen table as they talked about their day. Their toddlers were close by, looking for toys to play with or a bit of attention.
The scene was hectic and promising, much like the lives of the young mothers, who are hoping to get on track at , a nonprofit serving teenage mothers, providing them with educational help, parenting and relationship workshops.
The organization gets hundreds of applications a year for the residential program, with six teen moms and their children staying in a 12-bedroom house near West 64th Avenue and Sheridan Boulevard for 14 months while they work toward self-sufficiency.
“I was living with my family and decided I just wanted to be more independent,” said Hannah Jernigan, 18. “This is a nice, clean home where I can make sure my daughter, Coralaine, can have fun, and I’m learning to cook, organize and be self-sufficient.”
Hope House of Colorado executive director Lisa Steven said it’s the only nonprofit of its kind in the metro area. The organization also operates a resource center in Westminster that works with about 150 teen moms, helping them get their GED or enrolled in college while offering financial literacy, relationship and parenting classes, among other services.
“Working toward true self-sufficiency and to be off all government benefits is our main goal,” Steven said. “Our graduates are 90 percent successful in achieving that.”
Steven said many teen moms are homeless, couch surfing or living in unsafe environments. Hope House gives them a support system many have never had and the belief that they’re capable of being a good student, good worker and — most importantly — a good mother.
“It’s given me the support to work toward having a career and working toward getting my own apartment,” said Stephanie Rodriguez, 19.
Steven added that 100 percent of the teens they serve are below the poverty line, and that in Colorado — — a single mom with one child must work more than 110 hours per week at minimum wage to stay above the poverty line.
The Colorado native knows firsthand the struggles Hope House clients go through: She was a teen mom at age 17.
“There’s a lot of stigma and shame teen moms go through,” Steven said. “Here, they don’t feel judged and have a place where people care about what’s going on in their lives.”
A recent rezoning approval by the Arvada City Council for an empty field next to the Arvada location means the organization can move forward on a years-in-the making, $4 million project to relocate the Westminster resource center into a yet-to-be built 15,000-square-foot complex that will serve 350 teen moms from across the metro area.
Phase II of the project will see an early learning center to care for the kids while the moms study and take classes at the resource center.
The group is about halfway to and construction is slated to start later this year.
“There certainly is strong community support for what they’re doing,” said District 2 Councilman Mark McGoff, who voted in favor of the rezoning. “It shows Arvada is willing to participate in a problem that extends beyond our borders and help young mothers from all over the region.”
Although there was some pushback on the expansion from a handful of neighbors mostly concerned about traffic, parking and lighting, retired pastor Monty Newton ran the neighboring Heritage Community Bible Church for years and worked closely with the group, including donating and selling land for the upcoming expansion.
“They’ve been great neighbors and have always done everything they said they were going to do,” Newton said. “It’s apparent they have a very contagious spirit in wanting to serve.”
Austin Briggs: 303-954-1729, abriggs@denverpost.com or @abriggs
