Nov 25 2009
Lee Daniels' gritty indie film "Precious” follows a suffering pregnant girl struggling against impossible odds. Producer and director Daniels said on NPR's Fresh Air, "I know the cycle has to stop. And that's the beauty of 'Precious.'"
The film exposes what Daniels says is historically kept secret within families – raw realities against which young Precious Jones had little hope. Daniels wants audiences never to ignore Precious again, because she is seen every day, yet not seen at all.
Teen Mother Choices International, www.tmcint.org, (TMCI) exists to spotlight that unseen girl, one of over 450,000 teen moms who give birth each year in the United States, and elect to keep their babies. TMCI was founded to serve that child-mother and has honed proven solutions in 20 years of mentoring, supporting, and training hundreds of teen moms.
For these teen mothers, the cycle has stopped.
The beauty is in the resultant independent, functioning members of society who have parented a following generation of responsible workers and college students.
At the start of its third decade, TMCI is announcing a national rollout of its successful model – the Plan – to reach the nation's "Precious" teen moms.
TMCI plans to introduce its model to 3,000 local organizations in 2010, reaching 300,000 teen moms by 2015. Expected results: better and happier families, stronger societal foundations and enormous taxpayer savings of up to $61.5 million in public aid funds. (No graduate of the program relies on government welfare.)
Pure economics bear out the success of TMCI. According to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, experts estimate the annual cost of births to teens at $9.1 billion. The cost for a teen mother in a Teen Mother Choices program is $6,500 per year.
TMCI Founder and President Christa March said, "We were simply called to the Biblical mandate to '…care for the fatherless and widows in their distress.' Teen moms and their babies are the fatherless and widowed of today."
Forty organizations in 14 states have replicated the TMCI model. Established local organizations and churches can start a feasibility study now and may be delivering services in one year.
The Christian ministry model is based on the idea of local people of faith gathering to break the cycle of teens who need knowledge, support and skills to parent well. The holistically focused, pro-life initiative requires the support of some 80 to 100 volunteers per seven young moms. Volunteers from lawyers to nurses and retirees can get involved, offering an array of skills and perspectives.
Within the program, teen moms meet weekly for a meal, workshops on life skills, and one-to-one mentoring. They also may receive childcare reimbursement. TMCI is ready now to offer a successful turnkey parenting-support solution that has been proven over time and across cultures.
TMCI's goal is to raise $500,000 in 2010 for expansion to 3,000 programs reaching 50 states. Funds raised by the Christian charity will go toward required staff, external support resources, training materials, and the development of electronic delivery systems to train program leaders and expand web and webinar capabilities.
TMCI's incoming Chairman Larry Stanek said, "The thrill is to see the generational successes; that hundreds of teen moms have raised children so well…yet there is a restlessness of wanting to make it happen more frequently and faster."
Source:
Teen Mother Choices International