“Celene’s” life completely changed when she left her home and moved in with her father. She had to learn a new culture, a new language, new social norms, and even a new person – Celene hadn’t spent any time with her father since she was very young, and now that she was a teenager, she didn’t remember him very well.
Celene’s life in her new home got off to a challenging start. She started going to school, but she didn’t feel like she fit in. She missed her mother, and eventually became pregnant, making her crave time with her mother all the more. One day, Celene was assaulted in her neighborhood, and her anxieties became all-consuming. Her father tried to help comfort and support her, but nothing seemed to work.
Celene and her father learned about Second Story for Teens in Crisis through Celene’s school and decided that Celene should come to stay with us. Together, Celene, her father, and our staff discussed finding a safer place for Celene to live, and Celene worked with counselors to explore what kind of parent she wanted to become. She learned about fetal and childhood development and even knit booties and a hat for her baby. By the time she left the program, she had a safe place to live and felt more confident about her abilities as a parent.
