Local agencies scramble to help teen moms, fragile families

As he plays contentedly on his mother’s lap, one-year-old
Ernesto Reyes has no idea how much different and difficult his life could be. His teen mom, Valerie Reyes, was forced to drop out of her Renton high school to have him. When he was just 4-months-old, the family was evicted because they couldn’t pay the rent. They had no idea what to do.

“It was terrifying. We didn’t know what to expect. It
was something that was going to change our lives,” Reyes
said.

They’re not alone. Everyday in our area babies
are born into poverty, facing the threat of abuse and
neglect. It can lead to a lifetime of misery and a
vicious cycle that gets passed from one generation to the
next.

But a number of local organizations, some small and some
large, are banding together to come up with new ways to
help fragile families and give kids a fighting
chance.

Reyes and her boyfriend were referred to Healthy Start, a Redmond based non-
profit that provides support for young families.

“Every single family can succeed if they just get the
right support,” said Program Director Keltie Wright.

According to Wright, research finds the first three years
are most critical in a child’s life. But most young
parents have little or no support, resources or knowledge
to give their children a chance.

“You can prevent so much from happening down the road. We
want every child to be free from child abuse and neglect
and ready for Kindergarten,” Wright said.

But the demand for help far exceeds the resources
available. So Healthy Start and many others turn to
Northwest Children’s Fund, a local
foundation that identifies and funds the most effective
programs on the front lines working with vulnerable kids
and families.

“It is all about the kids. And we learned some years ago
that if we’re all about the kids we have got to be all
about the families. So that’s why we’re very serious about
supporting those fragile families,” said Victoria Helm,
founder and Executive Director of Northwest Children’s
Fund.

While the situation might seem bleak, there’s also plenty
of hope because research has clearly identified the
biggest risk factors so providers can address specific
problems, according to Helm.

“We’re funding domestic violence prevention programs,
we’re looking at mitigating homelessness, we have many
organizations that we fund really to strengthen fragile
families and then treating our youngest victims of abuse
and neglect,” she said.

Northwest Children’s Fund relies almost solely on
donations and volunteers, with virtually every dollar
donated going directly to services.

Reyes and her boyfriend have gotten everything from
shelter to baby clothes and toys to parenting education
from Healthy Start.

“I was just happy that we always had somebody there every
step of the way to help us come through the obstacles.
Everything that we needed, we had help,” Reyes said.

And thanks to that help, baby Ernesto has a much better
chance at a healthy and happy life.

“He’s the happiest baby ever. He’s always cheerful. It’s
crazy how much you can just love a little person,” Reyes
said.

And that’s why the Seattle Seahawks, Les Schwab Tire
Centers, and Bonneville Seattle are proud to honor
Northwest Children’s Fund as our charity of the month.